05:29 PM MDT on Friday, July 21, 2006

REDFISH LAKE – Day six and still no sign of a missing hiker in the Sawtooth Mountains.

Brian Van Pelt-KTVB

A helicopter makes a sweep around Grand Mogul peak in hopes of finding any signs of hiker Jon Francis who has been missing since Saturday.

Today the search resumed from the air.

A helicopter and small plane sweeping the Grand Mogul peak using infrared and sensor technology.

Early Friday afternoon several aircraft did show up to circle Grand Mogul peak in hopes of spotting anything unusual from the air.

A military helicopter spent several hours near the mountain and also near Redfish Lake Lodge.

Also this afternoon two airplanes flew over, one of them carrying a brand new Civil Air Patrol technology called hyper-spectral.

According to the Civil Air Patrol, it uses reflective light to detect the difference between natural and manmade objects on the ground.

NewsChannel 7 was told that this is the first time it's been used in a missing person’s case.

The Francis family watched the sky today and waited for any word.

Last night Jon's father, David Francis, said the family is committed to searching through Saturday night.

"Is it a recover mission?” asked NewsChannel 7.

“I don't know, only god knows. But I’m not ready until Saturday sundown to lift up my son Jon Francis and hand him to the arms god. We're going to search until Saturday sundown," said David Francis.

Dozens of search volunteers for the Francis family had to stay off the mountain Friday while this equipment was being used from the air.

Teams of people have come in from all over the country to help.

One crew searched the trail around Redfish Lake this morning in case Jon made it to this area.

The family says they are appreciative of the latest search effort from the air and ground.