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**File Photo**Sarah Dallof and Andrew Adams reporting
A special ceremony at the Utah State Capitol unfolded as planned today, despite a tragic discovery below the building. The body of a construction worker was found just as the dedication ceremony was getting under way.
Thirty-year-old John David Welsh from Riverdale had reported to work this morning and was found several hours later. Investigators say clues point to an industrial accident as the cause of his death.
As fireworks burst over the newly renovated state capitol, investigators were working to remove the body of Welsh.
Doug Welling, president of Jacobsen Construction, said, "This is a very sad occasion on the heels of a very grand occasion."
Welling was attending the ceremony, just about to hear the dedicatory prayer, when he was pulled aside and told the news. The man, a plumber working for one of Jacobsen Construction's contractors, had been found by a co-worker.
"There were some areas of the building that could be worked in, and there were a few workers in the constricted area of the sub-basement near the base isolators where this individual was found," Welling said.
Video taken two weeks ago for a story on base isolators shows just how cramped and dimly lit the space is. "It's very confined, difficult to get into. It's a large area, and I can see how someone could get down there and not be discovered for some time."
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Cameron Roden says there are no obvious signs of foul play, but the agency is investigating all possibilities and is trying to establish a time of death. "I know when medical personnel reached him they said it had been for a short period of time," he said.
It was certainly a tragic end to a day focused on new beginnings. The UHP is handling this case because the capitol actually falls under state jurisdiction.
Right now it's believed this was an industrial accident. Investigators declined to elaborate or provide more details about the type of accident.
