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Steamboat Springs man found dead in remote canyon in Northeastern Utah

Scott Franz

— A missing Steamboat Springs man was found dead Sunday in a remote part of the Utah wilderness after a long search.

Investigators with the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office in Manila, Utah, believe that Kenneth Martin Roche died from hypothermia, and alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor, according to the news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Roche was found in Crouse Canyon on Sunday, two days after his abandoned vehicle was located near the Colorado state line.



Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Susie Potter said Roche’s vehicle appeared stuck when it was found, raising the possibility Roche, 45, was trying to walk out of the area when he died.

Daggatt County Sherriff Jerry Jorgensen told The Desert News in Utah that Roche’s vehicle was high centered on a rock about 50 feet from the nearest road, and empty alcohol bottles were found inside.



Roche, a popular plumber here, moved to Steamboat from Amber, N.Y., in 1992. He was an avid fisherman, dirt biker and woodworker.

Roche’s friends and family called the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 27, the day after his birthday, concerned about him.

Deputies went to check on Roche at a remote cabin he was believed to be staying at in Taylor Flats, Utah, that day.

They searched extensively throughout the surrounding Brown’s Park area for two days without finding any trace of him, and law enforcement then assumed he wasn’t in Daggett County.

Potter said his family also was searching other places and working with the Steamboat Springs Police Department to try and find him.

His vehicle was found Friday night by a Utah Department of Wildlife Resources official near Crouse Canyon, and searches started Saturday.

The search for Roche on Sunday included search and rescue teams from Daggett, Uintah, and Moffat counties.


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