Police find man dead in Northern Idaho
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The following is a news release from Idaho State Police.
On Nov. 20, at 6:45 p.m., the Idaho State Police dispatch center received a call from concern family members of an overdue motorist. Robert R. Westbrook, 73, of Smelterville, failed to return home from a medical appointment in Hayden.
The Idaho State Police dispatch center issued an attempt to locate for Westbrook and dispatched troopers to the areas to which he would have been traveling. Utilizing Westbrook’s cell phone, the cell carrier was contacted and a trace of Westbrook’s phone was attempted. The last location was in the Harrison/Rose Lake area on SH97 and SH3 on the evening of Nov. 20.
The search for Westbrook continued into the next day as the Idaho State Police and Kootenai County Sheriff began searching all roads in the area for any sign of Westbrook’s vehicle. An Idaho State Trooper was traveling on SH3 at approximately 7:45 p.m., when he noticed tire tracks leading over an steep embankment. He stopped to investigate further and located Westbrook’s vehicle, a tan 2008 Ford F350 pick-up.
Westbrook had been ejected from the vehicle and was found deceased at the scene. It was determined that Westbrook was southbound on SH3 near milepost 94, just north of the Kootenai/Benewah County lines, when he failed to negotiate a right hand curve, went left of center and off the left shoulder of the roadway.
The vehicle then went over the embankment and struck a large tree, coming to rest on it’s roof. Westbrook was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Next of kin has been notified and an autopsy will be performed to determine time of death. The investigation is continuing.