Former White House Chef Found Dead on New Mexico Mountain Trail: AP

Former White House chef Walter Scheib, 61, was found dead along a trail in the New Mexico mountains Sunday night, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Scheib had left his car parked near the trail in Taos and gone for a hike, and one report said he was going fishing, last weekend, June 13. Horses, helicopters and K-9s were used to help try to find him.

There was no immediate word on his cause of death.

Scheib was hired by then-first lady Hillary Clinton to work at the White House. He was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Scheib at one time lived in Great Falls. Reports say he had recently moved from Florida to Taos. He was the owner of The American Chef, offering culinary talks and special culinary events. He was the executive chef at the White House during the Clinton years and for a few years with President George Bush and first lady Laura Bush. He is the author of “White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen.”

PHOTO of Walter Scheib and former President Bill Clinton from www.walterscheib.com