The search for a man missing since his vehicle was found in an irrigation ditch Friday night ended when his body was found Tuesday.
The body of David White, 30, was found near the vehicle, in or near the ditch, said Trooper Nate Reid with the Colorado State Patrol.
White’s 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee was apparently southbound on East Animas Road (County Road 250) when it went off the right side of the road down a steep embankment, Reid said.
“He was ejected during the rollover, and the vehicle came to rest in a water-filled ditch,” Reid said. “It appears the driver was also submerged.”
There are no indications as to what may have caused White to go off the road, Reid said, adding the State Patrol is waiting for results from blood tests from the coroner to see if drugs or alcohol might have been a factor.
“He did not have a seat belt on,” Reid said.
Family and friends have been searching the area since Saturday when no one had seen or heard from White, and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office began pursuing it as an active missing-person case Monday. Deputies had searched the field nearby without success Monday before returning to the area Tuesday along with troopers from the State Patrol.
White, who grew up in Durango and worked for Carl’s Concrete and Construction, leaves behind a 5-month-old baby.
abutler@durangoherald.com
