5-day search for boy lost in abandoned Utah mine made national news decades ago, and now it’s a movie

Scene from “Faith of Angels,” which premieres successful eastbound Idaho theaters connected Sept. 26. Watch our question and reply pinch nan head successful nan video above. | Photo courtesy Three Coin Productions

IDAHO FALLS – A location communicative that made nationalist headlines 35 years agone is nan taxable of a caller movie premiering crossed nan state this month.

“Faith of Angels” tells nan communicative of 10-year-old Josh Dennis, a Kearns boy who was mislaid successful an abandoned excavation successful Utah’s Oquirrh Mountains successful 1989. He was recovered aft a 5 time search.

“By nan extremity of it, it was nationalist news to nan constituent that Josh received a missive from President H.W. Bush. He wished (Josh) good connected his betterment and expressed that his communicative is grounds that miracles still happen,” Garrett Batty, nan film’s director, tells EastIdahoNews.com.

The movie premieres successful Utah this Thursday and will beryllium released nationwide, including eastbound Idaho, connected Sept. 26.

Though nan result of Josh’s communicative is communal knowledge, Batty says it’s nan miracles that happened on nan measurement that make nan movie worthy seeing.

Batty spent 2 years moving connected nan task and collaborated pinch those progressive successful nan real-life incident, including Josh, who is now 45 years old. He and his woman person a cameo quality successful nan film.

Cast members see Michael Bradford arsenic Josh and Kirby Heyborne arsenic Josh’s dad. John Michael Finley, who starred successful nan 2018 movie “I Can Only Imagine,” portrays nan lead character, John Skinner.

“John Skinner is simply a man respective states distant … who wakes up successful nan mediate of nan nighttime and says, ‘I’ve sewage to spell to Utah.’ He has nary thought why,” Batty explains.

Although Skinner didn’t cognize Josh aliases nan Dennis Family astatine nan time, Batty says he ended up playing a captious domiciled successful nan hunt effort.

Connecting nan dots and showing really people’s lives intersected successful miraculous ways during nan five-day ordeal is what compelled Batty to bring this communicative to nan screen.

It was Josh’s family who initially brought this communicative to Batty’s attention.

The movie was filmed successful and astir nan excavation wherever nan incident took place, Batty says, and nan Dennis Family was adjuvant successful making judge each item was arsenic authentic arsenic possible. The overgarment Josh wore astatine nan clip is nan aforesaid overgarment worn by Michael Bradford successful nan film. A jump suit and helmets worn by immoderate of nan searchers are besides original.

Despite nan relentless effort to beryllium accurate, Batty says Josh requested a alteration aft getting a transcript of nan script. It made Batty nervous.

“He said, ‘there’s a segment successful nan movie wherever I’m driving up to nan excavation (with my dad) and eating Twizzlers. I was really eating Nibs,'” Josh said, according to Batty. “‘If you tin alteration it to Nibs, past we’ll beryllium ok.'”

Batty laughs astir it now because it drives location that everything is accurate, correct down to nan package of Nibs.

“Every item that we could, we put into nan movie, and I deliberation it’s stronger for it,” he says.

Wayne Ball of Idaho Falls, nan film’s executive producer, agrees.

He wanted to beryllium portion of a faith-based movie project, and erstwhile he learned Batty was making a movie astir Josh’s experience, he agreed to finance it.

After seeing nan unit astatine activity connected location and watching nan movie, Ball says it delivers and he encourages group to spot it.

“This is nan existent deal,” Ball says. “It promotes religion and dream and it’s conscionable a feel-good movie.”

“Faith of Angels” is rated PG. To study much aliases bargain tickets, click here.

Courtesy Three Coin Productions

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH BATTY IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.