BOONE — A targeted search for a Jewell man who went missing in 2016 is being organized by Boone County Search & Rescue.

Jesse Leopold was 23 when he was last seen leaving his place of employment in Jewell on October 13, 2016.

His father, Jerry Leopold of Boone, said at the time that Jesse had told his supervisor he was going to get his medicine just before his lunch break at approximately 6:30 p.m. that night, according to Daily Freeman-Journal archives.

At that time, the elder Leopold said that when he learned from Jesse’s roommates that he had not been seen since he left work, the father posted a plea on social media for help in finding his son. The following morning, when Jesse Leopold’s purple, ¾-ton Ford truck was found on Canyon Road in Ledges State Park, near Boone, the father officially reported him missing.

The truck was found unlocked and with the keys in it. According to Jerry Leopold, his son always locked his truck.

The search that is planned for March 22 will focus on about 23 acres of grassland at the end of Peony Lane at Ledges State Park. The Ledges State Park consists of 1,117 acres of wooded and rugged land, with scenic trails and bluffs according to the University of Iowa College of Engineering Geological Survey.

“We remain committed to Sheriff (Andrew) Godzicki’s mission of bringing closure to Jesse’s family and ensuring that all reasonable search efforts are exhausted,” Chris Hayes, administrative commander for Boone County Search & Rescue said in a new media release.

Volunteers will again be welcomed to help in this search, according to the media release.

A search in the fall of 2023 yielded no clues.

The search in March is being coordinated with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and Boone County Emergency Management.

In 2016, when Leopold went missing, Sgt. Cole Hoffman of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said there were no signs of foul play or that a crime had occurred.

Jerry Leopold said his son was struggling with bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. His son had indicated to his father that he could not afford to refill his prescription. The father had reason to believe his son was getting drugs from “shady places,” a previous Daily Freeman-Journal story said.

Jerry said Jesse had been admitted to the emergency room several times, and when they drew his blood, they found drugs in his system that had not been prescribed, it added.

Because there was no sign of foul play, Hoffman said the sheriff’s department had not been actively searching for Jesse.

“We’ve done everything we can,” Hoffman said in 2016. He indicated at the time that they were preserving any evidence that had been discovered. “Any tips of his whereabouts that come in, we’ll do what we can.”

Boone County Search & Rescue searched Ledges several times, as well as the Des Moines River. Department of Natural Resources officials aided in those previous searches of the park. At the time, Jerry Leopold said each day since his son’s truck was found at Ledges, someone had been out there looking for him.

“We’ve been beating Ledges to death,” he said.

Nicky Calmer of Boone, a former classmate and friend of Jesse’s, helped in those early search efforts.

“I got involved in Jesse’s search because I am a parent myself,” Calmer said. “If my child was missing, I’d love all the help I could get trying to find him. No family should ever feel like the Leopold family does — helpless, confused and worried.”

In 2016, bloodhounds were brought in to aid with the search. The dogs could not pick up his son’s scent on the ground outside the truck, indicating Jesse’s feet may have never touched the ground at Ledges, his father said. Because there was no scent discovered, he said the dogs did not search anywhere else in the park.

According to the Daily Freeman-Journal story published in 2016, a psychic told the father that his son could be in an area in the park known as Crow’s Nest. Jerry Leopold said then that whenever he was in that area of the park, the psychic would start texting him.

After nearly two weeks of no activity on his cell phone or bank accounts, Jesse Leopold said he believed that his son was no longer alive.

“I find it highly unlikely,” Jerry said then. “He’d have to have some mad skills to make it two weeks in this weather without shoes.” The boots Jesse was wearing at work were found in the back of his truck and it is not believed he had any other shoes with him.

“I love him and I wish I would have been able to help him with his mental stuff better,” he said.

Boone County Search & Rescue said it would provide more details about the planned March 22 search nearer to that date.