Montana News

Body discovered in Beehive Basin near Big Sky

Posted: Jan 20, 2013 5:39 PM by Jamie Leary
Updated: Jan 21, 2013 8:44 AM

BIG SKY - The body of a man was discovered in Beehive Basin near Big Sky early Sunday morning.

Several snowshoers discovered the body shortly before 9 a.m., Madison County Sheriff Dave Schenk said.

Schenk says they do not know how long the victim was deceased and the cause of death is also under investigation. The body was transported to the Missoula Crime Lab Sunday to determine those details. Officials expect to identify the victim by Sunday night but will likely not release his name until the cause of death is confirmed. In addition, Schenk said he cannot release the specific location the body was discovered.

Schenk says they are not ruling out the possibility the victim could be a reported missing person. On Thursday, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office issued a missing persons alert for Richard Wilkins, 47. Schenk says they searched the vehicles at the trailhead of Beehive Basin and none matched the '03 silver Chevy Impala Wilkins is believed to be driving.

We will continue to update this story as more details become available.