CUSTER COUNTY, Idaho — Officers with the Custer County Sheriff's Department arrested Alan Douglas Bruce of Challis, Idaho, on Monday in relation to the disappearance of 47-year-old Patrick Ray Shelton. Bruce is charged with First Degree Murder and Felony Destruction of Evidence.
Both the victim and the suspect in this case are from Challis, Idaho.
According to a release from the Custer County Sheriff's Department, Patrick Ray Shelton failed to return home from a wood gathering trip in the mountains near Challis on May 8th. On May 10th, authorities were notified that Shelton remained unaccounted for and went looking for the missing man. As the sun set, officers found Shelton's car and his dog in the Big Hill Area west of Challis.
The following day, a search and rescue effort was launched with the assistance of Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue. Authorities used thermal imaging and dog teams in their search for Shelton.
However, on May 11, that search and rescue effort officially transitioned into a recovery operation, and the case was deemed a homicide.
On May 12, officers took Bruce into custody. Shelton's body remains missing.
