He was killed riding an ATV near Kelly Canyon. Now friends are wondering who stole his memorial.
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IDAHO FALLS — A set of handle bars and an axle from an old four-wheeler may look like scrap metal to some. But to Jason Rigoulot and Ross Davison, it’s an extension of their best friend Matthew Steele and a memorial to his recently lost life.
But now that memorial is missing.
“We just want to know where it is, (and) where can we get it back,” Rigoulot says.
Davison adds, “Heartbreak all over again.”
The hand-crafted memorial was built in honor of the 40-year-old who passed away less than two weeks ago after an ATV accident. He was spending time with family and friends at an annual Mother’s Day campout in the Kelly Canyon area.
“Matt took off to run up the hill and was about 3/4 of a mile up from camp. He caught the shoulder of the right side of the road and shot off the left side … off an embankment,” Davison says.
Steele went down the 11-foot embankment at a high rate of speed. A passenger was riding with Steele and was able to jump free, remaining uninjured. Friends and family have had a difficult time coping with the sudden loss and wanted to build something in his memory. Two days after Steele’s passing, a group of friends went to Table Rock Road in Kelly Canyon to install a memorial where he was killed.
“I had some old parts from one of his four wheelers I had worked on for him. If you knew Matt, the memorial we built would fit him pretty well. It wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t expensive but it came from the heart,” Rigoulot says.
Rigoulot said the complete memorial had an axle shaft, a set of handlebars and then a plate on the handlebars that said his name and death date. The plate also had three numbers welded on it — 381. The numbers stand for three words, eight letters and one meaning.
“I love you,” says Rigoulot.
Since Friday, after Rigoulot’s mother went to visit the site, the memorial has been missing. The friends say they took time to drive the memorial deep into the ground and whoever removed it would have had a difficult time. It had been up there for less than a week.
“I was hurt and mad at the same time,” Rigoulot says.
“We just want it back. It can’t be replaced. One of Matt’s best friends built that out of parts from Matt and it means a lot to us,” Davison says. “Matt’s mom hadn’t even had a chance to go up there and see it yet, and she’s pretty hurt by it too.”
Davison says a group has friends have pitched in money to give a $1,000 reward to whoever finds the memorial, and they hope to find it soon.
“It can’t be replaced. We’ll build something else to put there, just because that’s where a lot of us go just to hang out and remember Matt and talk with him. We’ll do something else but it won’t be the same,” Davison says.
Davison has spoken with the Bureau of Land Management and officials say they don’t know where the memorial could be. If the memorial was properly authorized by BLM, it could have had more protections.
The Upper Valley ATV and UTV Club will be crafting an additional stone memorial for Steele to place in a similar location.
A raffle is being held in honor of Matt Steele with tickets starting at $1. Funds will go to help Steele’s parents. Raffle tickets can be purchased at Hobby Town in Idaho Falls or at Ross’ Diesel. Custom made decals in honor of Steele can be purchased for $5 as well.