ST. GEORGE — Arizona search and rescue teams are attempting to locate Beau Riddle, a missing man out of Layton, after both his truck and the fifth-wheel trailer he was towing were found unoccupied. He was found dead Tuesday morning.
According to a statement posted on the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Riddle was found dead in an area near where his vehicle was last seen.
“There are no indications of foul play,” the post states. “We want to thank everyone that came out to help locate him, as well as the K-9 Team from Washington County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, the Arizona Department of Public Safety Helicopter and the Bureau of Land Management Rangers. Our condolences are with the family. Please respect their privacy during this time.”
Riddle was reported missing while traveling across several states. After the Sheriff’s Office did a welfare check on Saturday, Riddle was officially listed as missing Sunday at approximately 4:45 a.m. and Search and Rescue teams were dispatched to locate the man, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Anita Mortenson said.
Riddle had just delivered a fifth-wheel trailer in Littlefield on Thursday for his new employer, Farm Boy Towing, and was about to take another trailer to Idaho on Friday. The company was arranging for another driver to take the trailer and to put Riddle into a hotel after he said he was having a mental health crisis, according to a press release issued by the family. The last communication between the employer and Riddle was at 4:47 p.m. on Friday.
The company retrieved the trailer in the Beaver Dam area, and his truck was later located in the same area, Mortenson said.
Riddle’s wife, Kim Riddle, was quoted in a social media post as saying that she is “so worried about him” and that his disappearance doesn’t make sense, because he is a “perfectionist.”
“(He) always wants to take meticulous care of his vehicles and belongings,” Kim Riddle is quoted as saying. “He must have been having a mental breakdown to leave the trailer and not tell anyone.”
The Mohave County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office is using an experienced search and rescue team to search the area where the truck and trailer were found. The sheriff’s office initially used a helicopter for the search but the brush is too thick to find anyone. They decided not to use tracking dogs because of the extreme heat. At this point, law enforcement does not suspect foul play in the disappearance.
A group of friends and other volunteers are offering to help in the search with four-wheel drive vehicles but law enforcement doesn’t want the search site contaminated at this point.
The Layton Utah Police Department entered Riddle into a national missing person database and sent out an Attempt To Locate request for Riddle to law enforcement in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
Beau Riddle is five-foot-nine and weighs approximately 240 pounds. He has gray-brown hair and green-brown eyes. There are faded color tattoos on his shoulders. He was likely wearing a black or gray shirt and shorts with black ankle socks and Sketcher shoes, as well as a silver cross necklace and a black watch, Mortenson said.
Those with any information are requested to contact The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at 928-753-0755 or the Layton Police Department at 801-497-8300.
Update July 25, 1:35 p.m. Additional information added.
Update July 26, 1 p.m. Information regarding Riddle’s death was added.
Photo Gallery
Beau Riddle with his family, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News The truck and trailer Beau Riddle was last scene driving in Beaver Dam, Ariz. July 2022 | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News The truck and trailer Beau Riddle was last scene driving in Beaver Dam, Ariz. July 2022 | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News Beau Riddle, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News The location in Arizona near Littlefield / Beaver Dam where Beau Riddle was last scene | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News Search and Rescue was dispatched to locate Beau Riddle Sunday morning, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of Paul Murphy, St. George News Beau Riddle, missing and believed to be in the area of Littlefield, Arizona. Undated | Photo courtesy of Mohave County Sheriffs Department, St. George News
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