A search-and-rescue operation on the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 24 found the body of mountain-biker Dirk De Muynck, 46, of Waarschoot, Belgium on the Jackson Trail approximately a mile downriver from the main Kane Creek parking area, according to a press release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
De Muynck was reported missing by family members at approximately 6 p.m. after he had not been heard from following a mountain-bike ride that began on the Amasa Back Trail early on the morning of Monday, June 23.
Family members told the sheriff’s office that De Muynck had contacted them at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Monday and stated he was on the Amasa Back Trail and that he expected to be done with the ride in a relatively short time.
The sheriff’s office office was contacted when De Muynck did not later make contact with that family member. A search was initiated shortly after 6 p.m. in the Amasa Back area and the trail systems in that area.
Just after midnight, De Muynck was located on the Jackson Trail. Authorities said that he was deceased when located. They indicated that it appeared that he had started to backtrack on the trail and was carrying his mountain bike at the time that he went down.
De Muynck was carrying a backback with a Camelbak that contained water and he also had an additional water bottle inside his pack. Search and Rescue personnel also noted that he had food in the backpack. Search and Rescue personnel and Sheriff’s deputies were able to transport De Muynck to the trailhead on a litter and wheel, but had to ferry him and their equipment and personnel across the deep water of Kane Creek near its confluence with the Colorado River with the use of inflatable kayaks.
The Jackson Trail is usually accessed from the mid-point of the popular Amasa Back Trail and it descends along the edge of a steep slope toward the trailhead at the start of the dirt portion of Kane Creek Road.
When the Colorado River level is high, water from the river backs up into the mouth of Kane Creek, making exiting the Jackson Trail challenging.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said that De Muynck’s body has been transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City and that the cause of death is undetermined at this time.
Cause of death of 46-year-old man unknown
