Missing Valley County man found dead after rolling UTV into Cascade Lake

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced it had found the remains of a man who went missing late last week.

In a news release, the agency said the body of 65-year-old Brian Randall Ekman, of Donnelly, was found inside his UTV that had rolled into Cascade Lake near the Boulder Creek boat launch.

The sheriff’s office asked for the public’s help locating Ekman on Monday. He had last been seen Friday with his 14-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, Cheech. The dog was not found, and there were no dog tracks near the scene of the crash, officials said.

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office received a report Monday from a citizen who believed they had found Ekman’s UTV in about 10 feet of water in Lake Cascade. The sheriff’s office launched a boat with a side scan radar to search the water for the UTV, ultimately confirming that the submerged vehicle matched Ekman’s Polaris General UTV.

Officials believe Ekman got stuck in sand on a steep embankment before rolling into the water.

The agency extended thanks to partner agencies that assisted in the search and condolences to Ekman’s family.

This story was originally published October 7, 2019 at 12:59 PM.