TAOS, N.M., June 22 (UPI) -- Walter Scheib, the former White House executive chef for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, has been found dead on Monday near a New Mexico hiking trail.
Scheib was last seen June 13 when he left to hike alone in the Taos Ski Valley mountain trail in Taos, N.M. He was later reported missing and his car was found abandoned on Tuesday.
Searches for Scheib began Wednesday and authorities were able to use his cell phone signal to approximate a position to a mountain. His body was found Sunday.
"The body was discovered off the immediate trail approximately 1.7 miles from the base of the trail. No further details are available at this time. Rescue workers are still gathering information," New Mexico State Police Sgt. Liz Armijo said in a statement. Scheib recently moved to the area, according to authorities.
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Scheib was hired in 1994 by then-first lady Hillary Clinton and served as the executive chef for the White House until 2005. He was credited with bringing New American-style cuisine to the White House, wrote a White House cooking memoir and appeared television shows including Iron Chef America and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
"For eleven years, I had the challenge and honor of doing daily what most chefs might be lucky to do once, serving the First Family of the United States. From planning State Dinners that paid tribute to world leaders such as Nelson Mandela to creating a repertoire of first lady lunches to orchestrating barbecues for thousands of guests on the South Lawn, I was thrilled to help shape White House cuisine and events for more than a decade," Scheib wrote on his The American Chef website.
