Authorities believe that a woman found dead outside her wrecked vehicle on White Mountain on Sunday is a Green River woman who has been missing for more than two months.
Though her identity has yet to be forensically verified pending an autopsy, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office said circumstantial evidence — including the description of the vehicle she was driving and other personal effects — points to it being 41-year-old Melissa Ann Amadio, who was last seen on Feb. 26, according to Jason Mower, public information officer for the office.
A gold and white Cadillac El Dorado that was not registered to Amadio but was reportedly the car she was driving was found by passers-by on dirt bikes wedged in a ravine on White Mountain, roughly five miles outside of Rock Springs.
Based on the location of the vehicle, Mower said that it had likely careened off County Road 53, on top of the rim of the butte, falling roughly 1,000 feet in elevation.
“We were able to locate some tire tracks near the top of the mountain near where we believe the vehicle likely came off the mountain,” he said, estimating the car rolled about a quarter to a half mile before coming to rest in the ravine.
The victim’s body was ejected at some point and was found between 30 to 50 yards from the wreck, he said.
Mower said that the area is popular with outdoor recreationists and is much busier in the summer and fall months. This — on top of the tan, gold color of the vehicle that blended into the terrain — likely accounted for it taking two months to be found, he said.
Based on evidence at the scene, Mower said there’s no indication of foul play. Her death is being considered an accident, he said.
“It appears consistent with a car crashing off of the mountain,” he said.
Amadio’s brother, Eddie Kopfman, posted about his sister’s death on the Missing People of Wyoming Facebook page, asking for “space” and promising to provide updates about funeral arrangements. He thanked everyone for their efforts in helping to find his sister.
He, likewise, declined to be interviewed.
Like finding a needle in a haystack
Given the vast size of the state and ruralness, it’s not uncommon for people not to be found for upward of months at a time, Mower said, particularly in a county the size of Sweetwater. With a land area of more than 10,400 square miles, Sweetwater County is the largest in Wyoming and the eighth largest geographically in the nation.
In his 17 years of law enforcement, Mower said that it’s not uncommon for a person who has had an accident of some type to go weeks or months without being discovered, saying it happens once or twice every other year.
“If you crashed and were severely injured or deceased and couldn't phone for help, it's like finding a needle in a haystack,” he said.
Such incidents are not unique in Wyoming. Last September, 79-year-old Donnie Smith was found in his vehicle in rural Carbon County after running off the road. He had been reported missing for three weeks before his vehicle was discovered by hunters in a ravine.
Likewise, 55-year-old Laura Lane, of Idaho, had been missing for more than a month after her vehicle careened off the road in Grand Teton National Park last July and was found submerged in a river.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
