Brother of U.S. Sen. Udall found dead in Wyoming wilderness

The brother of a U.S. senator was found dead in the Wyoming wilderness Wednesday after taking a long backcountry hike from which he never returned. No foul play was immediately suspected.

James “Randy” Udall, 61 -- brother of U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) -- had told his family about his plans to take an extended hike through an obscure route in the Wind River Mountains of western Wyoming, which his family said was Randy Udall’s “favorite mountain range in the world.”

The 6-foot-4 hiker was a hardy outdoorsman, despite having suffered a previous hip injury, and embarked on a six-day solo hike through the range on June 20.

His disappearance was first reported to the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, two days after he failed to return.

Several helicopters assisted in the search, and the sheriff’s office reported finding Udall’s body lying on its side in open, rolling terrain. His sister, Dodie Udall of Boulder, Colo., told the Denver Post that Udall was still holding his hiking poles.

An autopsy was still forthcoming, but his family suspected that he died of natural causes, they said in a statement.

“Randy left this earth doing what he loved most: hiking in his most favorite mountain range in the world,” the family said in a statement released through Sen. Mark Udall’s office. “He appeared to be on the obscure, off-trail route that he had proposed to his family. The entire Udall family is touched beyond words by the tremendous outpouring of support from people around the country. Randy’s passing is a reminder to all of us to live every day to its fullest, just as he did.”

Randy Udall was an environmentalist and energy efficiency advocate whose family has long been active in politics. New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall is a cousin. His uncle, Stewart Udall, was Interior secretary in the 1960s. His father was the late U.S. Rep. Morris “Mo” Udall of Arizona.

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