For the week of  October 3 - 9, 2001

$25,000 reward offered to find Jay Pitkethly

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By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer

The Pitkethly family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the location of Jay Pitkethly.

Jay Pitkethly

Pitkethly, 42, has been missing since Sept. 16, when he apparently abandoned a borrowed car in Gimlet. Blaine County Search and Rescue conducted an extensive search of the area for several days, but found no indication of what had happened to him. It remains a mystery as to whether Pitkethly voluntarily disappeared, succumbed to the effects of a head injury suffered earlier that day, or was the victim of violence by others.

"Our sad conclusion is that Jay had bleeding in his brain from which he may have died," the family stated in a printed release. "We offer this reward in hopes that people who are outdoors will continue to search for Jay. We feel he is still in the Wood River Valley."

Pitkethly is described as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and eyes. On the day of his disappearance he was wearing blue shorts, a navy blue T-shirt, a gray parka and brown sandals.

The release states that the family would like to find Jay, or his body, before the snow falls this winter.

Areas that have been extensively searched are Gimlet, East Fork, Greenhorn Gulch, Trail Creek, Corral Creek, Clear Creek, Owl Creek and the Big Wood River from East Fork to Hailey.

The family expressed gratitude to Blaine County Search and Rescue and encouraged people to become volunteers with the organization to help with future searches. Anyone wishing to do so can contact Sheriff's Deputy Lt. Greg Sage at 788-5555.

Anyone with information on Pitkethly’s whereabouts can call his sister, Narda Pitkethly, at 726-5160 or 720-4401.

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