CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Eddie Hower and Chase Hamilton found the missing Nampa woman after a series of unusual events for the pair.
- Clark survived on a canyon wall not far from her vehicle
- Eddie Hower and Chase Hamilton discovered the crashed vehicle by accident while out coyote hunting
- Hower and Hamilton were not aware she was there until after police arrived
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
I spoke with Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue about the missing persons case filed for Penny Kay on the 5th of December. Initially it was thought she had gone shopping in Kuna or Marsing.
“It doesn’t immediately go into a missing persons case, there is some criteria parameters that have to be met” Donahue explained.
I asked about the survival situation of the case and what people should do should they find themselves in this situation.
“Typically in these types of cases you’ll want to stay as close to the vehicle, if not in the vehicle, if you can.”
The car in Penny’s case did its job. Air bags were deployed and saved Penny’s life. Remarkably, the driver door was undamaged, the only undamaged portion of the car.
The two men who found the wrecked car had gone out that day with a different goal in mind and began around 40 miles away.
“Yeah we came out here with the idea of finding some coyotes but we found something special," says Eddie Hower, one of the two men who found Kay's crashed car.
Those coyotes proved elusive for Eddie and Chase, like they were leading them somewhere.
“It’s almost like they were in on it. We went further up into the canyon to a spot and called and called and called just weren’t having any luck. Chase was sitting up a little bit further behind me and when I turned around there was a coyote standing directly above us on the edge. As soon as Chase turned around and that coyote took off. It just seemed like one of those days, they’re getting educated, they’re getting used to us," explained Hower.
Nearing the end of their day, Eddie suggested they go visit the canyon rim, a usual summer spot for the two but somewhere they rarely go in the winter.
“We came out here, I parked my truck where it was now, and I think our first steps, I walked right here and that was our first time seeing the car. He couldn’t see it over from there, came over here, and that’s when we made the choice to go investigate,” continued Hower.
During their investigation they found a fanny pack with a cell phone and ID. After climbing out they looked up Penny Kay on Facebook to contact her that they had found, what they thought, was her stolen and junked car. The first result that came up was an article that said she was missing.
It wasn’t until the Canyon County Sheriff’s deputies came out and spotted Penny Kay that Eddie and Chase even knew she was there.
“We also had that moment of like, ‘man we should have looked around for her.’ And I think that was part of God’s plan also was to not to find her. That’s what’s so amazing about this story is that how much each step led to this situation.”
I asked the sheriff about signage along this road in the future.
“I guess it’s something to consider in the future but I don’t see it in the immediacy.”
