As told by Joseph C. Sharp, son of Joseph Sharp:
(Joseph C. Sharp was later a missionary to Scotland, deputy sheriff, then sheriff of Salt Lake County, later chief of detectives for the Salt Lake City Police Department.)
When Joseph C. Sharp was a boy, he was out herding sheep in Rush Valley. (He related that living out of doors, he got used to cold weather. He didn't wear an overcoat even in the middle of winter while herding sheep, or thereafter, during his life.)
Once, in early winter, a heavy fog came over the area, and Joseph got lost. For three days and nights he wandered, trying to find his way back to the sheep camp. Just as he was about to give up, a man appeared out of the fog and inquired of Joseph, "Do you know who I am?"
Joseph replied, "No, I have never seen you before in my life."
The man said, "I am your father."
Joseph said, "You can't be my father. He died when I was only three years old."
To which the man responded by showing Joseph a scar on his body and telling him, "When you get back to Salt Lake, tell your mother about this scar." Joseph looked at the man closely, and was able to describe him accurately later.
The man then asked young Joseph to come with him, and he would find the sheep camp. He did this in a short time. The fog apparently lifted and the other man with the sheep camp saw them coming and rushed into the sheep camp to prepare food. But, when Joseph got into the sheep camp, the stranger had disappeared, and they could find no sign of him. When Joseph got back to Salt Lake City and described the man and his scar, his mother, Margaret Condie Sharp told him, "That was your father!"
Submitted by Ruth H. Barker, 2010