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The deputies stood on Kevan Francis' doorstep at 4 a.m. the day after Father's Day in 2007 with the news: His son, 11-year-old Samuel Ives, had been killed by a bear while on a camping trip in American Fork Canyon.
One officer handed Francis a pamphlet on grieving and asked if there was anyone he could call. Francis declined the offer, then told the deputies to leave. That's when, Francis said, the chaos set in.
"Before that, I was a normal person. I had a life," Francis testified Tuesday in U.S. District Court during the second day of trial on a $2 million negligence lawsuit he filed against the U.S. Forest Service.
Attorneys representing Francis, as well as Sam's mother, Rebecca Ives, and former stepfather, Tim Mulvey, argue the Forest Service failed to inform the family that a dangerous bear was on the loose the day the family settled in to a campsite in American Fork Canyon and could have prevented the boy's death.
"There are certain things in life you can worry about when you have kids. Like him riding his bike in the street, or when he's climbing that tree, is he going to fall?" Francis said.
"The idea that I have to celebrate every Father's Day with the idea of a bear killing my son is crazy to me. It is like a bad dream. You couldn't write this."
Francis' gut-wrenching testimony came as prosecutors tried to demonstrate the emotional toll Sam's death has caused following the horrific turn the boy's holiday camping trip took the night a bear clawed into the family's tent, snatched Sam, then dragged him down a trail, killing him.
Attorneys for Sam's family claim the campground should have been closed until the bear was caught and euthanized following a call from camper Jake Francom, who reported that a bear had ransacked his campsite around 4 a.m. and confronted him. Sam was attacked at the same camping area later in the evening.
Attorneys for the U.S. Forest Service counter the agency has immunity from litigation and had no way to know the bear would kill Sam. They also contend there is no scientific evidence to prove that the bear that batted its paw into Francom's head as he slept in a tent was the same animal that killed the boy.
But a supervisor of the Forest Service officer who failed to follow-up with Francom acknowledged the agency could have done more to inform the public about Francom's bear encounter.
Forest Service officer Carolyn Gosse told a Utah County Sheriff's Office dispatcher that she would send an officer to investigate the area above the Timpanooke Recreation Area where a bear raided Francom's campsite and knocked over coolers, her supervisor, Timothy Clark, testified.
Gosse, who was later fired, never made that call and didn't further communicate with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources or other employees in the district to track the situation, even though the bear was labeled a "level three," designating it as a public safety threat because it didn't show fear of humans.
"Her actions did deny us the opportunity to respond to the area and conduct an investigation ... and notify the public [of any threat]," Clark said.
He said he would have contacted the campsite's host to try to notify other campers in the area had he known about the call Gosse received.
Two DWR workers, however, testified that they sought to hunt down the bear following Francom's call. Luke Osborn sent out a team of dogs and wildlife biologist Dennis Southerland helped track the situation.
The two didn't believe the bear would return to the site, based on the heat and other factors, Osborn testified. Southerland said he planted a trap near the site, just the same, loaded with pastries and bacon grease to try to snag the bear in the event it returned.
Neither expected the attack on Sam based on the evidence of their search earlier in the day, they testified.
Southerland said he would have suggested restricting access to the campsite if he'd known Sam's family had planned to camp in the spot that night.
Francis said the lack of communication between agencies charged with policing the campsite is difficult to swallow, particularly since Sam's mother wouldn't have camped the night of the bear attack had she known about Francom's episode with a bear the same day.
He choked up on the stand recalling the media circus surrounding his son's funeral, which didn't allow him to say goodbye in the quiet way he had hoped.
He said he tattooed a Lego man on his leg following Sam's death as a way to remember the boy's love for the toys. He also keeps a block in his dresser as a reminder.
"It's crazy the little things you hold on to. He always had them with him," Francis said.
The trial continues Wednesday before Judge Dale Kimball, when Sam's mother is expected to take the stand.