Parents Of Dead Teenager Say Sheriff Waited Too Long To Launch Search

Relatives of a teenager who died of exposure in the Arco desert claim the Bingham County sheriff’s office failed to organize a search party that could have saved his life.

Jake Bloxham, 18, died of hypothermia Jan. 12 after he and Michael Guardipee, 19, abandoned their stranded pickup and tried to hike across the desert to Atomic City. They were out coyote hunting.

Guardipee made it to safety and directed searchers who found Bloxham too late to revive him.

The two soaked their legs in a ditch before night set in. They has passed a sign saying Atomic City was 23 miles away, but thought they could cut the distance by walking across the desert.

They discovered an abandoned homestead, where Guardipee wrapped himself in insulation stripped from the wall and fell into a deep sleep. He later was able to hitch a ride to Atomic City.

The boys’ parents plan to ask the Idaho attorney general’s office to investigate the matter.

Lois and Steven Guardipee of Fort Hall, and Ivan and Sharon Bloxham of Chubbuck said when they called Bingham County just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 11, they expected a search would be launched.

So on Thursday morning when Springfield-area residents offered to assist in the search, the family told them an airplane and Search and Rescue were going to help.

“We thought when we called the Bingham County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday night, we’d get help,” Lois Guardipee said.

Bingham County Sheriff Dayle Holm said there are good reasons for the overnight delay in his department’s search efforts.

The parents could not narrow down the possible area to one small enough to search effectively, he said.

His office did not call the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory search team because officers were unsure where to hunt. But he acknowledged the boys could have been found by the INEL’s specially equipped helicopter, which ultimately discovered Bloxham’s body in 16 minutes.

Holm said the road between Springfield and the Arco desert was very foggy the following morning. But the families counter it was “crystal clear.”