Teton County Sheriff: Missing Idaho Snowboarder Found Dead
A snowboarder who went missing last week was found dead in the snow near the Grand Targhee Ski Resort about 11:50 a.m. today, according to a news release from the Teton County Sheriff's Office.
Lee Kidd, 34, of Driggs, Idaho, was reported missing on Dec. 23 when he did not return to work.
Kidd's ski pass had been scanned at the Dreamcatch lift at the ski resort at 10:45 a.m. that day.
Search teams were looking for him since.
He was found after sheriff's office investigators received information from a friend of Kidd's, which led searchers to an area in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness.
They found a snowboard with its bindings sticking up from the snow, and used K-9 teams to try and locate Kidd.
One dog began showing interest in a specific area and teams started to dig there. They soon found Kidd buried in about two feet of snow. The sheriff's office presumes he was buried the day he was reported missing.
Kidd fell in a mountain bowl just northeast of the steep Steve Baugh Bowl, which is not skiable because it leads to an unavoidable 500-foot cliff.
The rescuers believe Kidd fell from the cornice above the bowl, fell the length of the bowl and then over the cliff. He came to rest in the area that is known as “Beard’s Wheat Field.”
Kidd suffered severe trauma. While cause of death is yet to be determined, preliminary evidence indicates he didn’t survive the fall.
The search teams included the Grand Targhee Ski Resort's ski patrol, Teton County Search and Rescue, Teton County Sheriff’s Office and Grand Teton National Park. The searchers express condolences to the family and friends for their loss.
A severe winter storm and avalanche danger hampered the search in the past week.