Delia D'Ambra

An article by the Associated Press explained that Ellsworth's recent reports to the game department had detailed evidence of game violations happening in his jurisdiction, particularly involving deer that were believed to have been butchered and improperly disposed of.

So with this information in the back of everyone's mind, people couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Ellsworth had been targeted.

The Associated Press reported that late Wednesday night slash early Thursday morning, so roughly 30 hours into the search, some volunteers had heard the distant crack of gunshots in the region.

But no one knew whether the shots were unrelated, possibly Ellsworth trying to signal for help, or something more sinister.

By Saturday, September 1st, several days into the search, evidence was found that confirmed poachers had been operating in the mountainous region outside of town.

Searchers discovered dead game birds that had been harvested illegally, as well as mangled deer carcasses that had been placed in three shallow graves.

Those discoveries were ominous signs that made officials begin to lose hope that Ellsworth was even still alive.

But efforts to find him didn't fall off.

In fact, quite the opposite happened.

The total number of people involved in the search increased to almost 1,000 volunteers.

Two of Ellsworth's sons, Wallace and Ford, and Ellsworth's brother, Milo, had gotten involved, as well as shortwave radio operators, miners, men from the Civilian Conservation Corps, and pilots from as far away as Boise and Lewiston.

Coverage about this case states that the search for Ellsworth was the largest to ever happen in the Coeur d'Alene district and the biggest to ever be conducted up until that point in all of Shoshone County.

Old mines were checked in case the missing game warden had maybe fallen into or been put down one of those.

Aircrafts also continued to fly over the forest and mountains too, but no matter how hard everyone searched, not a lot was found.

Other challenges for searchers were the treacherous nature of the landscape and brutal environmental conditions.

Initial coverage from the case reported that forest fire warnings were in effect during the search.

High winds and lots of dust made it difficult for the bloodhounds to track, and August's severe temperatures put the entire region under extreme risk for forest fires.

But even with all those factors taken into account, the search pressed on.

According to Bison Media Company's coverage of this case, during one of the subsequent searches, trackers with scent dogs found a few suspicious items near the mouth of an old mine, including several shotgun shell casings and a handkerchief with the initial E on it.

But unfortunately, neither of those pieces of evidence were confirmed to belong to Ellsworth.