June 22, 2015
Searchers have recovered the body of former White House chef Walter Scheib who was reportedly missing since June 14 after embarking on a solo hike in the New Mexico mountains, the Associated Press reports.
Scheib, 61, a resident of New Mexico, had served as White House chef for 11 years under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and was reportedly in good health when he left for a hike June 13.
On June 14, his girlfriend reported him missing and police located his parked vehicle at the Yerba Canyon trailhead, beginning an eight-day search aided by the U.S. Air Force and the New Mexico National Guard.
On Sunday night, Scheib was found dead “off the immediate trail," according to the Associated Press.
Authorities did not provide a cause of death or any other details about the discovery, saying rescuers were still gathering information and more details would be released later.
According to Scheib's professional website, he was initially hired by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton who, the site says, was impressed by his highlighting American cuisine with seasonal ingredients and contemporary flavors.
He was responsible for preparing everything from First Family meals to formal State Dinners, and just last month, he cooked dinner for a cancer charity's fundraiser at a hotel in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The AP also reported that Scheib had once told the Times Leader newspaper that preparing meals at the White House had required him to have a different outlook on food and cooking.
"When you're working at the White House, it's not a hotel or a restaurant, or a private club. It's a personal home," Scheib said. "Our goal wasn't just to cook food at the White House, it was to give the First Family an island of normal in a very, very crazy world."
Stein had left the White House in 2005 and became a food consultant and speaker, including appearing on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America" show in 2006.
Reuters contributed to this article.
