Teen Dies After Trying To Cross Desert

A Chubbuck teenager died of complications from hypothermia after his pickup truck got stuck in a snowdrift and he tried to walk across the Arco Desert to Atomic City.

Jake Bloxham, 18, died Thursday at an Idaho Falls hospital. He and a hunting companion, Mike Guardipee of Fort Hall, were flown there by helicopter after Guardipee reached help.

Bloxham and Guardipee, 19, went to the desert to chase coyotes and rabbits on Wednesday. After their pickup got stuck west of Big Southern Butte, they tried walking about 20 miles to Atomic City. Bloxham stopped about six miles west of town while Guardipee finished the trek to U.S. Highway 26, where he caught a ride.

Atomic City Mayor Linda Morgan said law enforcement and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory security officials found Bloxham shortly after Guardipee arrived in town and asked for help.

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