Search ends with recovery of North Carolina man's body in Snake River
JACKSON (WNE) — The body of a North Carolina man who was presumed to have drowned in the Snake River on July 4 was recovered Saturday near McCoy Creek Campground in Bonneville County, Idaho.
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday that Tory J. Raether, 55, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found deceased in the Snake River after a group of campers discovered his body near McCoy Creek and called authorities.
Raether, who was visiting family in Jackson for the holiday weekend, was located approximately 9 river miles downstream from “Jumping Rock” near the Sheep Gulch Boat Ramp, where he jumped in without a life jacket and disappeared. He was swept downstream by the current and was presumed drowned.
McCoy Creek enters the Snake River just upstream of where the river flows into Palisades Reservoir in Idaho.
Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Bryan Lovell said Star Valley Search and Rescue personnel were already searching nearby when dispatch notified them of the campers’ report. Star Valley Search and Rescue Commander Matt McMurdo said last week that efforts to locate Raether included using drones, boats and water jets with sonar as well as canines.
Because Raether was recovered in Idaho, the Bonneville County Coroner’s Office will conduct the autopsy, Lovell said.
This story was published on July 13, 2026.
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