Searchers using sonar found a man’s body 420 feet down in Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday.
The body is believed to be that of a kayaker who went missing in June 2024, although the remains hadn’t been positively identified as of Monday.
“However, based on the characteristics of the remains and the location where they were recovered,” they are thought to be those of Wesley Dopkins, 43, the National Park Service reported Tuesday.
Dopkins was last seen kayaking on Jackson Lake at about 2 p.m. on June 15, 2024.
Searchers found his folding kayak, paddle and dry bag floating off Moose Island in the lake at about 8 p.m. that night.
The body was located using “specialized sonar technology” deployed by the nonprofit search and recovery organization Bruce’s Legacy, the NPS reported.
Bruce’s Legacy also helped with search efforts last fall.
Lost In High Winds
Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) chief advisor Cody Lockhart told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that his organization had deployed a helicopter to search for the kayaker shortly after he was reported missing.
However, TCSAR doesn’t have sonar equipment, and could not conduct a search beneath the lake’s surface at that time, he said.
Dopkins was reported missing by a friend who had set out kayaking with him on the day that Dopkins went missing.
The two friends left Colter Bay around midday, planning to go to Waterfalls Canyon on the lake’s west shore, according to reports at the time.
However, they became separated in high winds. The friend tried to get back to the pair’s starting point, but the wind drove him northward instead to Leeks Marina, where he reported Dopkins’ disappearance.
Dopkins was not wearing a life jacket when he was last seen, according to the NPS.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
