ROCK SPRINGS — Authorities believe a body discovered around 12:30 p.m. Sunday near a wrecked vehicle on White Mountain is that of Melissa Ann Amadio, a 41-year-old woman from Green River who had been missing since Feb. 26.
According to Jason Mower, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer, the vehicle was found in a ravine below White Mountain, west of Moses Drive in Rock Springs.
“The car was not easily visible from the top or the base of the mountain,” Mower said.
While a forensic autopsy is pending, the sheriff’s office cited circumstantial evidence found at the scene as indicators that the remains are likely Amadio’s.
“We have every reason to believe that the deceased is likely Melissa Amadio, 41, of Rock Springs, who is the subject of a missing person’s report back on Saturday, March 1st, that RSPD handled.” Mower explained. “At the time of that report to RSPD on March 1st, the last time Amadio had been seen according to the people interviewed by the RSPD was Wednesday, February 26th.”
The vehicle, a gold and white Cadillac El Dorado driven by Amadio, was found by dirt bikers lodged in a ravine off White Mountain, approximately five miles outside Rock Springs. Mower said investigators believe the car veered off County Road 53 atop the butte, descending about 1,000 feet in elevation before eventually coming to a rest. Tire tracks near the mountain’s summit suggest the vehicle rolled a quarter to half a mile down the mountain. The body was found approximately 30 yards uphill of the vehicle, indicating the driver was ejected while the vehicle was rolling down the ravine.
The investigation continues, with no evidence of foul play currently identified.
