On Monday, December 18th, rangers came upon a vehicle with an Illinois registration parked at a popular backcountry access point called Sage Creek Basin overlook. Although nothing appeared amiss, they became concerned because they couldn’t see any evidence of camping or backpacking gear inside it and because there were no recent entries in the backcountry permit station register. To complicate matters, the National Weather Service was forecasting a severe winter storm with heavy snow accumulation for the area within several days. An investigative inquiry was begun to assure that the vehicle’s occupants were well-prepared for winter camping in wilderness areas. Family members were finally located and interviewed. They were extremely concerned when they heard the news and advised that the missing person, a 54-year-old man from LaGrange, had little camping or backpacking experience and would not be prepared for camping in winter conditions. They also reported that he was depressed because he’d learned that his father had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. They searched the man’s home and found an empty box with a foam inset which contained the shape of a shotgun. An intensive search was begun the following morning that included 28 ground searchers from Badlands, Minuteman Missile NHS and Pennington County SAR, a South Dakota Highway Patrol helicopter, and two Rapid City PD dog teams. Several potential leads were found but proved inconclusive. Search efforts were halted at nightfall for safety reasons, then resumed the next morning with additional personnel from Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave. Despite below freezing temperatures and wind gust up to 20 mph, about 40 searchers began working their way into the interior of the Sage Creek Wilderness Area. Within hours, they found the body of a man matching the description of the missing person. It was located about a mile-and-a-half southwest of the access point and was well-hidden in a deep ravine with an overhang. The county coroner reported that the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No camping or backpacking gear were found with him. Investigators learned that he’d told family members that he would drive until he ran out of gas, then walk off and “take care of things.” He also told them that nobody would find his body. Although the man had a wallet with him, all identification had been removed from it and from the vehicle. It’s believed that he may have buried them somewhere in the park to prevent his identification should he be discovered.
