The Latest: Treasure hunter’s family searching for answers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Latest on a Colorado man who died while searching for hidden treasure in New Mexico (all times local):

10:45 a.m.

The family of a man who went missing while searching for a $2 million hidden treasure in northern New Mexico has no plans to give up looking for answers to what may have led to his death.

Autopsy results show Randy Bilyeu had no broken bones or other injuries, but medical investigators were unable to determine what caused his death due to the few clues gleaned from his skeletal remains.

Bilyeu’s ex-wife, Linda Bilyeu of Orlando, Florida, said Thursday that the 55-year-old father and grandfather was brave enough to face the odds in an endeavour that he felt confident about and that some kind of unfortunate event cost him his life.

She says Bilyeu’s mishap should serve as a reminder that accidents can happen no matter how prepared a person might be.

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9:24 a.m.

Medical investigators are unable to shed more light on the final moments of a Colorado man who went missing during his search for a $2 million hidden treasure in the wilds of New Mexico.

The skeletal remains of Randy Bilyeu were discovered this summer by a crew with the Army Corps of Engineers that had been working along the Rio Grande just north of Cochiti Lake.

Autopsy results obtained by the Associated Press show there wasn’t enough evidence left for the Office of the Medical Investigator to determine what caused Bilyeu’s death.

There were no broken bones or other skeletal injuries. The report notes the possibility that he could have succumbed to hypothermia, the effects of dehydration or even something like a heart attack.

The 55-year-old Bilyeu went missing in early January, prompting months of intensive searching.