Overview

• Nonprofit group Bruce’s Legacy used specialized sonar to locate the remains and worked with park rangers to complete the deep-water recovery.
• Grand Teton National Park said the location and characteristics suggest the remains are those of Dopkins, with the Teton County Coroner responsible for official identification.
• Dopkins, 43, disappeared on June 15, 2024, while paddling from Elk Island toward Waterfalls Canyon as conditions deteriorated on Jackson Lake.
• Rangers soon found his foldable kayak, paddle, and dry bag drifting on the lake’s east side near Leeks Marina after the initial search failed to find him.
• Authorities say the circumstances remain uncertain; accounts indicate he was not wearing a life jacket after giving the only flotation device to a companion, and hypothermia is a known hazard in the frigid reservoir.