Scot Breithaupt, 'Godfather of BMX,' found dead in Indio

A body found Saturday in a vacant lot in Indio has been identified as Scot Alexander Breithaupt, a founder of bicycle motocross and a National BMX Hall of Fame member.

Indio police Sgt. Dan Marshall confirmed Breithaupt's identity and affiliation with the sport Sunday night.

"We believe that is the same person — that he is a founder of BMX. ... That is the same guy," Marshall added.

Breithaupt, 57 of La Quinta, was found in a tent in the lot at the southwest corner of Las Palmas Road and Monroe Street around 9:15 p.m. Saturday.

Marshall said in a news release that Breithaupt had been dead for an unknown amount of time before someone noticed his body and called police.

The cause of his death is under investigation by the county coroner. Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play.

The National BMX Hall of Fame described Breithaupt, in a Facebook post Sunday, as "The Godfather of BMX."

"As one of the sport's first track operators and founder of SE Bikes — and so many other contributions to the sport of BMX, this is a huge loss for the BMX World. He was a founding track operator, a star racer since he was a teenager in Long Beach, a creator of a major bicycling company and major BMX promoter," the association said in its post.

Breithaupt was passionate about the sport, said Craig Barrette, chief communications officer for USA BMX/The American Bicycle Association.

He was featured in a 2005 documentary, "Joe Kid on a Stingray," about the inception of the sport.

Barrette said Breithaupt had had legal trouble and struggled with addiction, but he always returned to riding BMX. Barrette described Breithaupt as an energetic guy and a go-getter.

"He was always going about 100 miles an hour," Barrette said, adding that Breithaupt had lived in the Coachella Valley since the 1990s.