Kelly King Search Intensifies Near Morgan Creek / Gooseberry: Guard, CAP, IMSARU — Tip 208-879-2232

Update — Sept. 24, 2026: According to IdahoNews, Kelly King was found deceased on Thursday, Sept. 24, after Air Idaho Rescue located his UTV off-trail. No cause of death has been published. The search is over, so please don’t call the tip line about this case. Our condolences to his family. Follow-up: Kelly King Found Deceased.

OPEN case. Search intensified. Tip path first. Avoid the search zone.

Kelly King — an overdue hunter — remains the subject of an active Custer County Sheriff search in the Morgan Creek / Gooseberry area near Challis, Custer County, Idaho, as of September 23, 2026 regional press.

Age is still thin in available copy. LocalNews8, KEZJ, and Idaho News name King and the search zone; they do not publish age in the wires reviewed here. This desk will not invent one.

Anyone with information should call the Custer County Sheriff at (208) 879-2232, or their nearest law-enforcement agency. Emergency: 911.

Wednesday morning: Guard, CAP, IMSARU join the sweep

According to LocalNews8 / KIFI (Seth Ratliff, published ~4:55 p.m. Sept. 23):

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office reported King missing on Tuesday after he failed to return from a trip in the Morgan Creek and Gooseberry areas. King was last seen driving an all-terrain vehicle; deputies shared an ATV photo on Facebook/Meta.

The search intensified Wednesday morning as the Idaho National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit provided aircraft, ATV, and UTV teams to sweep from above and on the ground.

That is a major scope change vs the Sept. 22 sheriff-primary wire. Log it. Do not mythologize it.

Possible tracks. ATV status unpublished. Stay out.

KEZJ (Greg Jannetta, Sept. 23) adds: King was roughly 48 hours overdue as of that write-up; searchers may have discovered tracks possibly made by the hunter; the public should steer clear of active Morgan Creek / Gooseberry search zones so unrelated impressions do not contaminate the trail.

King was driving a greenish/gray ATV (photo shared on the sheriff’s Meta page Sept. 22). No information has been released on whether the ATV itself has been located. This desk will not invent a locate.

Idaho News (CBS2, Sept. 22) remains the earlier primary for the sheriff’s avoid-area ask and tip (208) 879-2232.

Evidence-preserve and possible tracks are LE operational details — logged as such. Not packaging fuel. Not a cryptid subplot.

What the public record says — and what it does not

Established (sources reviewed here): overdue hunter last seen on ATV in Morgan Creek / Gooseberry; search intensified Wed with Guard / CAP / IMSARU (aircraft + ATV/UTV); possible tracks; ATV locate unpublished; avoid active zones; tip (208) 879-2232.

Not established (will not invent): age; exact last-seen clock beyond ~48 hrs overdue framing; where King is now; whether the ATV was found; manner/cause/medical/foul play; unpublished grids; any cryptid causation.

Official outcome, when published, = logged node, not story-over.

Idaho concurrent string — one closed, two open

File this escalate next to the prior King OPEN package (kelly-king-challis-morgan-creek-overdue-hunter-2026). Cross-read Randy Thurman now FOUND ALIVE (randy-thurman-riggins-found-alive-2026), Solomon Wilkins still OPEN (solomon-wilkins-meadow-creek-lookout-missing-2026), the late-summer SAR cluster (late-summer-2026-wildland-sar-cluster-forensic), Robert Miller still OPEN (robert-miller-douglas-co-wi-brule-mcneil-landing-missing-2026), and Tony Swan still OPEN (tony-swan-mt-adams-yakama-sar).

Stamp: OPEN / search intensified — Morgan Creek / Gooseberry, Custer Co. ID. Thurman logged found-alive. King + Wilkins still open. Shared calendar ≠ shared cause. Patterns ≠ proof. No cryptid cluster claim.

What this desk will not do

No cryptid claim. No invented age, ATV locate, cause, or closing. No creature art or speculative “evidence” graphics. Do not rehost the ATV tip photo beyond outbound link. Monstrum Athenaeum is not law enforcement beyond (208) 879-2232 and the avoid-area ask.

Bottom line

Kelly King — overdue hunter; Morgan Creek / Gooseberry near Challis, ID; search intensified Wed. morning with Idaho National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue (aircraft + ATV/UTV); possible tracks; ATV locate unpublished; avoid active zones; age still thin in wire.

Tips: Custer County Sheriff — (208) 879-2232.
Open case. Respectful. Tip path + avoid-area. No cryptid packaging.

— The Librarian (Cryptid desk / forensic pattern watch)

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Attribution / source table

• Claim element
  Attribution
  Link
• Multi-agency SAR underway; King reported missing Tue after failing to return from Morgan Creek / Gooseberry; last seen driving ATV; deputies shared ATV photo on Facebook; search intensified Wed morning — Idaho National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue (aircraft + ATV/UTV); public steered clear to preserve tracks; contact Custer Co. Sheriff
  LocalNews8 / KIFI — Seth Ratliff, Sept. 23, 2026 (~4:55 p.m.)
  Search crews scour Custer County for overdue hunter
• ~48 hrs overdue; possible tracks; greenish/gray ATV photo shared Sep 22 on sheriff Meta; ATV locate status unpublished; avoid Morgan Creek / Gooseberry active search zones; tip 208-879-2232; thinner bio noted
  KEZJ — Greg Jannetta, Sept. 23, 2026
  Search For Missing Idaho Hunter Ongoing, Police Ask A Favor
• Kelly King — hunter not returned when expected; Morgan Creek / Gooseberry search; avoid area to preserve tracks/evidence; tip (208) 879-2232
  Idaho News / CBS2 Staff, Sept. 22, 2026
  Idaho hunter missing, sheriff asks people to avoid area to preserve evidence
• Morgan Creek stream ≈44.6155, −114.1595; Custer County; USGS Challis 7.5′ quad; Challis ID ZIP 83226
  GNIS / USGS via MyTopo / TopoQuest · USPS
  Morgan Creek – Stream in Custer, Idaho · public ZIP profile for Challis, ID 83226
• Ledger continuity (prior OPEN King + Thurman found-alive + Idaho concurrent string + late-summer SAR + open holds)
  Monstrum Athenaeum prior / sibling packages
  Internal: kelly-king-challis-morgan-creek-overdue-hunter-2026; randy-thurman-riggins-found-alive-2026; randy-thurman-riggins-coffee-can-saddle-missing-2026; solomon-wilkins-meadow-creek-lookout-missing-2026; late-summer-2026-wildland-sar-cluster-forensic; robert-miller-douglas-co-wi-brule-mcneil-landing-missing-2026; tony-swan-mt-adams-yakama-sar

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Protective footer / strong disclaimer

This article summarizes publicly available Custer County Sheriff messaging and reputable regional press (LocalNews8 / KIFI, KEZJ, Idaho News / CBS2) for news, commentary, literacy, and tip-path publicity. It is not a law-enforcement product, missing-person bulletin, medical-examiner determination, or charging document. Monstrum Athenaeum does not claim that any cryptid, paranormal entity, conspiracy, or nonhuman agent caused Kelly King’s disappearance. Age, ATV locate status, exact last-seen clock, location, manner, cause, and any criminal or medical determination remain unestablished or unpublished in the public sources reviewed for this package. Concurrent Idaho backcountry cases (Thurman found-alive logged; King and Wilkins still open) are logged as a calendar co-occurrence / pattern watch only — not as shared cause.

If you have information, contact the Custer County Sheriff at (208) 879-2232 or your nearest law-enforcement agency — not this website. Approximate Morgan Creek coordinates (44.6155, −114.1595) and Challis ZIP 83226 are named public landmark / gateway pins only — not exact last-seen or search-grid coordinates and not an invitation to enter the active search zone. Honor the sheriff’s ask: avoid the area. This is not law-enforcement advice. Intended for mature audiences.