Mysterious Stories Blog
Strange, disturbing and mysterious stories from the outdoors
The strange disappearance and death of Todd Hofflander in Hells Canyon
Todd William Hofflander, disappeared September 27, 2010, Windy Saddle area of Idaho County, Idaho. Remains discovered April 26, 2020.
Revised April 2024
Todd William Hofflander, 39, was last seen in the Windy Saddle area of Idaho County, Idaho, on Tuesday, September 27, 2010. He and a friend were hiking there, and they decided to separate and take different paths through Hells Canyon to the Snake River. He never arrived at his destination and was never seen alive again.
Nearly 10 years later, in April 2020, remains assumed to be Todd’s were discovered.
In late January 2021, DNA testing confirmed the identity of the remains as being Todd Hofflander.
Hells Canyon was indeed hell for Todd.
The hunting trip to Hells Canyon
Todd was helping some friends scout mule deer bucks between Windy Saddle and McCaffee Cabin. The group of friends planned a four-day hike. The group split up on the fourth day, September 27, and Todd vanished. He was last seen at McGaffee Cow Camp.
The area has very rough, steep terrain, with elevations ranging from 8,000 to 1,500 feet above sea level in short distances. He took his black Labrador Retriever, Ruby, on his hike.
Hofflander lived in Lucile, Idaho, at the time of his disappearance. He was an experienced hiker and was sufficiently prepared for an overnight trip. He was carrying a pistol of unknown caliber, with five bullets. He also had a Bic lighter, two packs of Lipton red beans and rice, three jugs of water, two cans of chicken, chewy bars and pots, and a 15-degree bright red sleeping bag. It is estimated that his pack weighed 50 pounds. He had no radio or cell phone. Ruby, the dog, was wearing a red doggie backpack.
Todd wore a green t-shirt with a white design on the front, blue jeans, a blue baseball cap, size 10 Asolo hiking boots and a gold wedding band. He was carrying a camouflage-print backpack. He had a mustache, a goatee and four scars in his left ear from a previous piercing, scars on his groin, along his backbone, and on his forehead at the hairline. He had tattoos: the head of Jesus and the word "SAVES" on the right side of his chest, a buffalo skull on the left side of his chest, the cartoon character Wyle E Coyote on his right bicep, an eagle on his left bicep, the words "THUG LIFE" across his abdomen, the word "KING" across his shoulder blades, and a small circle between his right thumb and index finger.
Todd Hofflander goes missing
When Todd failed to show up at noon on September 28, 2010, his friends notified the authorities, and a search and rescue operation started. Back Country Medics out of Orofino and a helicopter from Hillcrest Aircraft Co. er. assisted early in the search. The helicopter flew grid searches of Bernard Creek, Bills Creek, Lightning Creek, and the east and west branches of Sheep Creek, McCaffee Basin, and Bear Basin. In addition, dog teams from Idaho and Clearwater counties' Search and Rescue teams joined the operation.
An Incident Command post was set up at Heavens Gate Lookout and manned by personnel from the sheriff's departments of Idaho and Clearwater counties. Despite an extensive search, no sign was found.
Ruby the dog found
After a fruitless search after the disappearance, with hope fading fast, the dog, Ruby, was found in the woods a few days later, dehydrated but otherwise in good condition. Ruby was found near milepost 15 on Seven Devils Road south of Riggins. She was located opposite the Seven Devils mountain range from where Hofflander was last seen. Searchers tried to get her to lead them to Todd but with no success. After finding the dog, searchers combed the nearby area but found nothing.
According to a post by New Boots of Idaho on a forum:
“My husband and I were the ones who found Ruby on Friday. We stopped for lunch at a parking area for hunters about mile 15. We DID see where she came from. She came downhill and sat near the fence and cattle guard growling at us, whining and pacing (we had our mini dachshund with us), she was obviously scared. My husband was concerned it could be a wild dog or even ill, but I persisted that it was probably Todd's dog. If, not, she was close to a dead ringer for the dog. (We later asked several hunters we saw in the area to confirm we weren't taking someone else's dog.) We tried unsuccessfully to get her to come to us, most likely because our dog was barking. My cell phone had coverage, but a low battery. I called the manager at the Best Western because the number was in my phone, and asked her the name of Todd's dog. I had seen the posters, but didn't remember her name. Another truck pulled in about that time and the people in it were taking pictures. When I called to Ruby, their dog jumped out of their truck and frightened her. We got to talking with them and we all agreed it could be Ruby. They had dog food, water and dishes and when we put them down and called her again, she came bounding, tail between her legs, but happy. We petted her and asked her "Where's Todd?" She became very excited and danced all around, jumping up to my shoulders and licking my face. It was rather emotional. We called out many times for Todd, and later my husband and I explored the area a bit more, but to no avail. We were not equipped for a detailed search. Since we were on ATVs, the other couple offered to take her down to Riggins. I called back to the hotel and they got the sheriff to meet them when they arrived. We left our names and information when we arrived, but the deputy never came to speak to us. I have videos when we first saw her and I took pictures to show where we found her also. Granted, it was just on the road, but my husband did see her coming down near the fence, so she may have been up the hill a ways. He has bad knees and although he said his first instinct would be to go down to a river where someone would find him, he said with bad knees, going up hurts less. I later inquired if there was an emergency phone at the lookout, but no one seemed to know. We found her just a few miles southeast of the lookout, but that is steep country around it. I have a bad knee also and didn't have the energy to climb to it that day. We used to have a dog who would hunt 4 to 5 miles out from us and always return, so we are/were hopeful for Todd. In searching on Google Earth, it appeared there is a small pond just up from where we found the dog. That makes sense since she didn't seem dehydrated, just hungry although she drank too. We have just been praying for a good outcome for this search and will continue to do so. I am also trying to find out how to get the pictures and video to his wife and brother if they want them. The approximate spot where we found her. 45°20'49.19"N 116°29'32.49"W It would be just north of that about. I show 45°21'07.63"N 116°29'41.62"W . It looked like it could be a small pond, but could possibly be rocks”
Todd’s wife said that the hunting group had split up “because her husband’s knee was bothering him, and they were supposed to meet down at the river, and my husband never showed up down at the river.”
She said the group thought her husband could make it on his own. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left him. She felt her husband start to make his way toward the meeting place but possibly get turned around because of the injury.
Discovery of remains in April 2020
On Sunday, April 26, 2020, the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho County Coroner were notified a hunter found what appeared to be the remains of a human skull above Bernard Creek. The hunter located other items in the area, including a pack containing camping equipment and a digital camera.
Eight personnel from the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office were taken by jet boat to the mouth of Bernard Creek by Killgore Adventures. They then hiked approximately one mile in, where they located a portion of a human skull and other skeletal remains. They also found hunting gear and a pack that Hofflander’s wife positively identified as belonging to her husband.
Officers recovered photographs from an SD card in the pack, which belonged to Hofflander. The authorities said that everything found at the scene indicated that the remains were Todd’s. The Idaho County Coroner Cody Funke sent the bones to the Ada County Coroner in Boise for evaluation and DNA testing.
Discovery of remains and confirmation they were Todd Hofflander
In late January 2021, the human remains that were found in the area of the Seven Devils, and Bernard Creek in April 2020 were positively identified as Todd Hofflander by County Coroner Cody Funke. The remains were identified by the FBI using DNA analysis.
What happened to Todd Hofflander?
Did he stumble because of his injury? How did he end up so far from the point he left the rest of his hunting group? Were Todd’s friends somehow involved in his disappearance? Although Ruby was discovered alive, the dog got separated from Todd, or it left his body.
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Read other strange stories from Idaho
The tragic disappearance and deaths of Jo Elliott-Blakeslee and Amy Linkert in Idaho
The Strange disappearance of Connie Johnson from Big Fog Mountain
The shockingly weird disappearance of Terrence Woods
The unexplained disappearance of Susan Seymour Adams
The controversial disappearance of DeOrr Kunz Jr
The strange disappearance of Fern Baird from the Prairie Peak Trail in Idaho
Sources
http://charleyproject.org/case/todd-william-hofflander
https://www.reddit.com/r/Missing411/comments/fvqie6/todd_hofflander_age_39_went_missing_in_2010_in/
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=209040&page=all
http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/1492/
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3447523695264336&id=178393728844032
https://lmtribune.com/northwest/remains-found-in-april-confirmed-to-be-those-of-man-missing-since-2010/article_fc912224-5fc1-5c17-b37a-3d13f9ec1f9b.html