UPDATE, 5:02 p.m. MDT — The Gallatin County Coroner's Office has identified the hunter found dead near Truman Gulch trailhead as Joseph Raymond Balyeat of Bozeman.
Balyeat was a former Montana state senator and had served in the Montana House. He was 65 with a birthday coming up on the 26th of October.
The coroner says his death was from natural causes.
Balyeat was elected as a Republican to Senate District 34. Previously he had served two terms in the Montana House. He resigned in 2012 to serve as Montana State Director with Americans for Prosperity. He was a certified public accountant and described himself as an "outdoor nut and mountain marathon runner" on social media.
(first report)
In the early hours of Wednesday, October 5, 2022, volunteers with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Search and Rescue found a hunter dead near the Truman Gulch trailhead.
At 10:51 PM on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, Gallatin County dispatch received a call for an overdue hunter. The reporting party drove to a location near Truman Gulch trailhead where the individual was hunting and found the hunter’s vehicle.
Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue volunteers, the SAR Drone Team, the SAR Dog Team, and LifeFlight network responded to the area in search of the hunter. The reporting party was able to provide an approximate location of where the individual was hunting and the hunter’s tree stand.
A Search and Rescue dog team was able to locate the deceased hunter. The Sheriff’s Office will release more details following family notification.
Sheriff Springer would like to pass on his condolences during this difficult time to the family and friends.
