By Roger Lanse

According to the New Mexico State Police, NMSP officers were dispatched to the Dragonfly Trailhead, about five miles east of Silver City on Monday, June 26, 2023, at about 10 p.m. Stephen Timmons, 62, of Silver City, was reported to have gone on a bike ride that morning and had not yet returned home. His vehicle was located at the Dragonfly Trailhead.

Search and Rescue teams were called out and according to Laurie Wlosinski, Grant County Search and Rescue, Timmons was located deceased at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 24, on the eastern side of the trail system about a mile west of the national cemetery by a two-man team led by Mark Levesque, GCS&R. An initial investigation indicates Timmons suffered fatal injuries stemming from a bicycle crash.

Wlosinski told the Beat four local S&R teams were looking for Timmons through the night. Other S&R teams from throughout the state were on their way or standing by when Timmons was located, she said. These fresh teams were needed as those who searched through the night had already walked many miles.

The Office of the Medical Investigator was notified and OMI personnel walked to the site and continue to work closely with NMSP to determine the exact cause and manner of death.

Timmons was a member of First Baptist Church in Silver City and pastor of the Christian Challenge program at Western New Mexico University, a ministry of Bible study with students.