Local Rancher Discovers Body in Selkirks Near Canadian Border

UPDATE JULY 20, 2023

We have updates with photos, and locations of the camp site, with estimated location of where the body was discovered.

UPDATE JULY 19, 2023

We asked the Sheriff’s Office for any information they could provide us in this case, since most death investigations have basic information that they give in press releases and public announcements.

We asked for the following information:

Regarding the body that was discovered on July 1 or 2, 2023 in the Grass Creek area.

– Any documentation that can be released to the public regarding this incident.

– Any press releases, or documents containing any details on the following:

1. Determination of death of the victim whether it was homicide, suicide, or accidental
2. Estimated age of the victim
3. Gender of the victim
4. Where the victim was from
5. Estimated date of when the victim expired/died
6. Description of what the victim was wearing, when discovered

The email response was :

The Sheriff’s Office said that no such release was compiled or presented to the public. The case is under active investigation and, “there was a complete lack of any determination as to the answers to your inquiries 1-5, and only limited information as to number 6, but not subject to release to the public. Our civil counsel has previously advised that release of such reports at this stage (pending investigation) could jeopardize successful conclusion of any ongoing investigation as well as prosecution of any possible related charges, thereby interfering with enforcement proceedings. In that regard, please see Idaho Code Section 74-124(1)(a).”

Fishing for Information

Shortly after we received the email notification, we received a call from Detective Caleb Watts, of the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office. However, Watts was not calling to provide information, he was calling to ask who provided us with information. Watts’ demeanor  was very concerned as to how we obtained details about this case. Watts, on several occasions asked who we got our information from. I was not able to give him the names, because I gave an oath to not disclose who the sources were.

Watts said that they had zero information regarding any of the details we asked for, except that the person is unidentified. I expressed that the interest in this case is very high, since our article, and people expect them (The Sheriff’s Department) to be working rigorously to solve this case. Watts said they are, indeed.

Watts did say that he does not believe that the couple we mentioned in the original article were involved.

Well, I have some questions for the Sheriff’s Department:

• How is it that you have zero basic information about this person?
• Since you have zero information about this person, how do you know who was or was not involved?
• Does the Sheriff’s Department have any relevant information about the victim, after more than 2-weeks of discovering the body?
• Why the total blackout of information, when there should have been a press release?

Often times, the department investigating a case will release basic information, in hopes that someone out there will be able to use that information and contact the department with more data based on what the press release says. That is certainly not the case here.

Many of you recall the college students that were murdered in their home, in Moscow. The police did a fine job in releasing basic information about that case. That is not what our department has done, with the case we are writing about.

We plan on going up to review the sites mentioned in this article. As soon as we get more information, we will post it.

Please tell your friends to start reading Boundary.News. We have become the most important place for news in Boundary County. Thank you all for your support 🙂

A local rancher discovered a body in the Grass Creek Road area.

On July 2nd, a local rancher was tending his cattle up in the mountains of the Grass Creek Road area. The rancher notified Border Patrol and the Boundary County Sheriff of the partially skeletonized remains. Officials from both agencies soon arrived on scene to investigate the remains. The remains have been submitted for DNA identification.

A backpack was initially discovered on the side of the road. The backpack was open. Laying next to the backpack, was a tattered, weathered book titled “The Hobbit”. The rancher, believed this find to be strange, and as he walked up the road a little further, he discovered what appeared to be a pile of clothes. Upon further inspection, he realized the clothes contained human remains. The remains were badly decomposed, and mostly skeletonized. The victim appeared to be dressed for winter.

There is a series of events that could be related to the victim that was discovered. If  the events are related, the following story may hold the secrets in this discovery. If the events are not related, the following story is puzzling.

The following story may or may not be related to the remains that were found. We do not intend to point fingers to who was involved. This story shows some interesting coincidences surrounding the case.

In October of 2022, a Florida couple (Carl late-30s and Steph 31) was building a cabin near Smith Creek. During the construction, the Forest Service discovered the cabin was being built on Forest Service land, and demanded a halt to the construction, and for the couple to clean up the site, and leave. Earlier in the season, the couple was discovered, at a previous/different camp. Back then, the Forest Service agent had told them to clean up the site, and leave. This time, they were building a second cabin on a second camp site. Again, the Forest Service agent demanded the couple halt construction and clean up the site. The snow had began to fall, which made it impossible for the couple to remain. The construction site was abandoned, and the couple somehow made their way back to Florida without their vehicles.

In the spring, when the snow was melting (there was still much snow), one of the residents that lives near the cabin/camp site went up to find the cabin was collapsed from the weight of the snow, along with an abandoned vehicle. Baby bottles, baby food, dog food and cat food were discovered inside the abandoned tent. The resident also found a second abandoned vehicle on the road not too far from the cabin site. The vehicles were found to have liens and were abandoned by the owners, who happened to be the couple from Florida.

According to the resident, the camp site appeared to have been “hastily” abandoned, or that the couple planned to return to the tent. The tent was still erected and their personal property was still in the tent.

The resident contacted Steph through social media. Steph said  “We abandoned that project” and “You can have the vehicles and anything else you find at the camp site”. Steph gave Carl’s new contact information to the resident. Carl and Steph sent the resident the keys to one of the vehicles. The second vehicle still had the keys in the ignition. The couple told the resident that he could have both vehicles. The vehicles were found to have liens on them.  One detail to note, is that both Steph and Carl’s cell phones were no longer in service. The resident had to track down and contact Steph on social media, and she provided Carl’s new phone information.

According to the Steph, “The couple divorced after abandoning the cabin construction, tent and vehicles”. Steph also told the resident that she and Carl felt like the world was coming to an end, and they wanted to find the most remote place that they could. Far-North Idaho was where they decided to go. They built the camp up in the mountains, and then the snows came. They realized then that they could not survive in the place they camped, and both vehicles got stuck in the snow. They got stuck on the side of the road in the snow, and slept for three nights inside the vehicle. A trapper wondered by, discovered them inside the vehicle, and took them down the mountain in his ATV/side-by-side. It is believed, that the couple had a third vehicle, and this is how they fled the area.

The resident asked Steph about the baby bottles, and various other children’s items he found in the vehicle. Steph denied that they had a child with them.

Some key questions and observations would be:

1. Why did couple abandon their vehicles and personal property?
2. The proximity to the body that was found, and the timelines of events is very suspicious.
3. There were baby bottles and other baby items found in their tent. Yet, Steph denies that there was a baby in their custody.
4. The GMC had the license plate from the Kia Sol, and not proper plates for the GMC.

Boundary.News will keep you posted, as we get updates on this situation.

We have just received more details, and will add those to this article tomorrow morning. Check back for updates!