Searchers find missing Powell man deceased

POWELL (WNE) — A search for a missing Powell man ended in tragedy on Tuesday afternoon with the discovery of his body north of town. Clint P. White had last been seen on the night of March 25. The longtime Powell resident was 52.

Authorities said Wednesday they were awaiting test results before determining the official cause of death.

White was a U.S. Air Force veteran and worked with his mother, Ann, and sister, Charise Rose, at their business, White Ink Printing.

White was reported missing on March 27, but the search effort was initially stymied by a lack of information about where he might have gone. The locator functions on White’s electronic devices had been shut off, and a ping of his cellphone yielded only a general indication that it was in the Powell area, said Powell Police Chief Jim Rhea.

On Monday, police received surveillance camera footage from White’s family, indicating that he’d left his home around 2 a.m. on March 26 with a generator and a blanket.

On Tuesday morning, federal experts relayed that the cell phone data indicated that the device appeared to have last connected from a spot on Polecat Bench, the chief said.

“It was a fairly large area,” Rhea said, and he spent several hours driving around many of the roads and trails on the bench — as did some of White’s friends and family members.

Given the wide area, Rhea asked for assistance from Park County Search and Rescue, which launched a plane from Cody and spotted White’s Tacoma around 3 p.m. Tuesday at a spot about a mile off Wyo. Highway 295, Rhea said.

Park County deputies reached the vehicle about a half-hour later, finding White deceased inside. Coroner Cody Gortmaker said his deputy determined that White died on March 26 — the same day he was seen leaving his residence.

This story was published on April 3, 2025.