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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A California man who vanished while traveling from his summer job in Idaho to the University of Montana died in a car crash northeast of Boise, officials in Custer County said Friday.
The disappearance of Lucius Robbi of Orleans, California, prompted a widespread search. Coroner Vicki Armbruster said Robbi died on Aug. 19 of blunt force trauma suffered when his car, with two kayaks on top, went off Highway 21 near Stanley and hit several large pine trees down a 60-foot embankment.
A private helicopter hired to join the search spotted the tip of a kayak in the trees near the Stanley Lake turnoff on Thursday. Robbi's body was recovered late Thursday night.
Officials had searched the area near Stanley Lake earlier, both by road and from the air, but Robbi's Subaru could not be seen from the road. Brush had to be cleared from the scene before the car was visible and recent rainstorms had washed away any vehicle tracks or debris that might have been left on the side of the road, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Robbi worked for Cascade Raft and Kayak in Horseshoe Bend over the summer.
He left on Aug. 19 to travel to Missoula, Montana, to attend classes at UM. He was reported missing when he didn't arrive for orientation on Aug. 20.
His car was last spotted in video surveillance at a gas station in Garden Valley, northeast of Horseshoe Bend, on the 19th.
A Facebook page was set up to help raise money and coordinate private searches, which extended into southwestern Montana.
Late Thursday, Robbi's mother, Tina Glaessner posted a note on the "Finding Lucius" Facebook page thanking everyone who helped with the search.
"You were all amazing, and the overwhelming outpouring of love and the heroic effort you made to find Lucius created a bond between you and all of us that will connect us forever," she wrote. "We are touched as well by the support of so many who did not even know our family, but showed their humanity and tremendous generosity at such a difficult time through countless acts of kindness."
The Idaho State Police is investigating the cause of the crash.
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