More than 70 volunteers searched for the remains of a hunter who went missing nearly five years ago in Mendocino County after a bone found in the area earlier this year was matched to his DNA, officials said Tuesday, July 14.

Volunteers searched an area near Eel River Saturday, July 11, for additional evidence that might tell investigators what happened to John Thomas Davis III, 48, of McKinleyville.

Davis was first reported missing in October 2021 by his son after the two were separated near the river during a storm while on a hunting trip. Authorities initially suspended the search in 2022 after 10 failed attempts to locate Davis.

On the morning of Oct. 24, 2021, Davis and his son awoke to flooding caused by a storm the previous night. Davis chose to stay in the area while his son walked back toward their vehicle, authorities said. Davis’ son waited in the car for his father, who never arrived. Davis’ son and family members searched but could not locate Davis. He was reported missing the following day, Oct. 25.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies led several searches throughout Northern California but no evidence or investigative leads were discovered. By July 8, 2022, search efforts were discontinued after the 10th search yielded nothing notable, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

The search this past weekend was launched after a person fishing on the Eel River on Feb. 1, 2026, called the Sheriff’s Office to report locating a bone believed to be from a human. On Feb. 3, a new search for Davis was initiated and personal property collected by investigators was identified as potential matches for items belonging to Davis, authorities said.

On June 16, the California Department of Justice confirmed the bone collected Feb. 1 was a positive DNA familial match for Davis’s parents, leading authorities to plan a large-scale search of the area.

On Saturday, more than 70 search-and-rescue volunteers, including personnel from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue team, scoured the area, photographing and collecting numerous bones near Davis’s last known location and where the bone was located in February.

The bones collected Saturday were found to be non-human by analysts at Chico State University’s forensic anthropology department, authorities said, but will be further analyzed to determine their origins.