Opinion: 2018 Idaho Missing Filmmaker Case May Have Mining Link

October 5, 2025, will mark seven years since an aspiring television producer went missing in the woods southeast of Moscow, Idaho near private mining property. His disappearance still has friends, family, and co-workers baffled to this day.

The Sellway-Bitterroot Wilderness extended over 1.3 million acres in the lower portion of the Idaho panhandle, according to wilderness.net. In 2018, a production crew shooting a series about mining near the community of Orogrande experienced a bizarre occurrence when one of their staffers ran into the wilderness and was never seen again.

Could Woods Jr. have stumbled onto private property that day? Perhaps someone didn't take kindly to his presence in this remote section of the Idaho wilderness.

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The community of Orogrande is located 160 miles southeast of Moscow, home to the University of Idaho. The region is heavily forested and is home to the Penman Mine, which has yielded both gold and silver dating back to the late eighteenth century when mining operations in the area began, according to thediggings.com. The mine is at an elevation of 6,900 feet, and it was near this site where filming was taking place on October 5, 2018, the same day Terrence Woods Jr. vanished into thin air.

The mine ceased operating in 1982, but rockhounds and other folks visit the area frequently in search of valuable minerals and metals. Located a few miles southwest of the Penman Mine is the community of Florence, which was one of the biggest gold producing regions in the state during the gold rush. Many believe there is still a substantial amount to be unearthed and many locals have mining claims throughout Idaho County.

Could Woods Jr. have stumbled onto private property that day? Perhaps someone didn't take kindly to his presence in this remote section of the Idaho wilderness. Numerous large-scale searches have been conducted near the mine, and to date, no trace of Woods Jr. has been discovered.

If you have information on the disappearance of Terrence Woods Jr., contact Idaho authorities immediately.