A lost hiker in Idaho was found a year later at the bottom of a cave, almost unrecognizable.

The Lost Hiker Was Found a Year Later at the Bottom of an Idaho Cave — But What Rescuers Discovered Was Even More Disturbing

When 29-year-old Daniel Mercer disappeared during a solo hiking trip in Idaho, authorities assumed the same thing everyone else did:

He got lost in the wilderness.

Search teams spent nearly two weeks combing through dense forest trails, steep ravines, and mountain ridges near the hiking route where his abandoned truck had been found. Helicopters scanned the terrain. Volunteers searched on foot for miles.