ALTA, Wyo. — The body of a snowboarder who went missing near the Idaho/Wyoming border was located on Thursday.
According to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming, Lee Kidd, 34, of Driggs, was found dead and buried in the snow in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness near the Grand Targhee Ski Resort at approximately 11:50 a.m.
Kidd was reported missing on Dec. 23 after he did not report to work at one of Grand Targhee’s kitchens.
His ski pass had been scanned at the Dreamcatcher lift at the resort at 10:45 a.m. that day. According to the Associated Press, Kidd had mentioned to friends that he wanted to explore the backcountry, but he left his transceiver, shovel and other backcountry equipment at home, along with his cellphone.
Search teams spent the next six days looking for him, which authorities said was challenging and expansive. A foot of snow and high winds covered any possible tracks, and stormy weather limited a helicopter search to about an hour on Saturday.
Information provided by a friend of Kidd’s led searchers to an area where they found a snowboard, which was sticking up from the snow.
Searchers then started using K-9 teams to try to locate Kidd. One K-9 began showing interest in a specific area. Search teams started to dig in this area and eventually found Kidd’s body, which was buried about two-feet deep in the snow.
Investigators believe Kidd had been buried in the snow since last Friday, which was the day he was reported missing.
According to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Kidd’s body was located near a mountain bowl that is not skiable because it leads to a steep and unavoidable 500-foot cliff.
Investigators believe Kidd fell from the cornice above the bowl. Then he fell down the length of the bowl and then over the cliff. He came to rest in an area known as “Beard’s Wheat Field.”
While the exact cause of death has yet to be determined, authorities believe it was due to severe trauma sustained from the fall.
The search team consisted of multiple organizations, including the Grand Targhee Ski Resort and the members of their ski patrol, Teton County Search and Rescue, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office and Grand Teton National Park.
