On Thursday, Boise police asked for help finding Andrew Schepp, a 40-year-old Boise lawyer and paragliding enthusiast missing since late last week.

By Thursday night, they had their answer. Fishermen found the body of Schepp on the rocky embankment on the east side of the Swan Falls Reservoir, southeast of Swan Falls dam on the Snake River.

Schepp wasn’t wearing his harness, helmet or any other equipment. His paragliding equipment had been discovered farther down the reservoir sometime before Thursday morning.

Ada County coroner’s reports say Schepp died from multiple instances of blunt force trauma, indicating he fell from a significant height onto the rocks below.

How that happened is still a mystery, sheriff’s officials said Friday.

The severity of his injuries and the location of his body showed that Schepp had to have been flying for some time before he fell, sheriff’s reports say. Deputies don’t think he tumbled from the cliff top where he would have launched into the canyon.

Local paraglider Eddie Petranek knew Schepp and said he was no novice. “He’s flown for a long time,” Petranek said. “He wasn’t a beginner.”

Petranek said it would be difficult to fall out of a paragliding harness but not impossible. It could happen if the leg straps weren’t secured correctly and a flier encountered a sudden weather or wind change.

“He could have gotten into some rowdy air, but if you are strapped in properly, you are not likely to be bounced out of (a harness),” Petranek said, though “it’s possible to get caught in some bizarre angle, or upside-down, and slide through.”

Paragliding — hanging from a fabric wing with a harness — is a difficult sport that requires a lot of practice, Petranek said. He said it has become harder to paraglide in the Boise area now that the city has closed Hammer Flat, a popular gliding launch site above the Boise River east of Boise.

“(The Swan Falls area) is usually a little too windy for paragliders, but with the right conditions it’s a spectacular spot,” he said. “You can fly by the canyon walls, then hitch a ride back up.”

Paragliding equipment, including the harness, weighs more than 50 pounds, so if someone fell out, the rig still could keep flying, Petranek said.

Schepp’s body was found by fishermen in a remote part of the Swan Falls reservoir about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. His body was not in the river, but deputies had to use a boat to get to it Thursday night, according to reports.

Deputies found Schepp’s gold BMW SUV Friday morning at the top of the cliff near where paragliders often launch.

Someone else found the paragliding gear near the bottom of the canyon and called Crime Stoppers on Thursday morning. It is unclear exactly when or where the equipment was found.

Family members had reported Schepp missing on Tuesday. He hadn’t been seen since Oct. 14.

Ada County coroner’s reports do not indicate how long Schepp’s body is suspected to have been at the bottom of the canyon.

Schepp was an associate at the Brady Law firm in Boise.

Patrick Orr: 377-6419