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CEDAR CITY — When Glenn Beachman found bones on the trail near the Arizona border, he told the three Boy Scouts he was leading they had stumbled into a crime scene.
First, they had spotted large bone, probably from a leg, and soon found another. Then they spotted the skull.
"We had been talking about what it might have been," Beachman said Monday. "When we came upon the skull, I said, 'Guys, this isn't an animal. That's a human skull. We've come across a dead body, and this is probably a crime scene.'"
The members of the Cedar City Scout group had taken a wrong turn on the Temple Trail during a hike Saturday and cut across a ravine to rejoin their troop, Beachman said.
The body was found on the Arizona Strip about 17 miles south of Hurricane, according to Arizona's Mohave County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the death. The Mohave County Medical Examiner's Office recovered the remains Saturday, and identification and autopsy results are pending.
Once Beachman and the three Scouts who were with him met back up with the rest of the troop for lunch, the group called the sheriff's office and returned to examine the find. Beachman was impressed at how respectful the group of 12- to 14-year-old boys was about the find.
We had been talking about what it might have been. When we came upon the skull, I said, 'Guys, this isn't an animal. That's a human skull. We've come across a dead body, and this is probably a crime scene.'
–Glenn Beachman, Scoutmaster
Beachman said he believes a coyote had spread the remains over about 15 yards. Among the bones they found clothing and a blanket they believe the body was wrapped in. Two dentists in the group identified extensive dental work in the skull and said they believed it belonged to an older person.
"We could see clearly where the body had been laid in the ravine. The oils from the body had soaked into the ground," Beachman said.
Beachman now hopes investigators can identify the body and notify the person's family, likely putting to rest some painful, unanswered questions. That night, the boys had scoured the Internet for missing persons reports, he said.
Beachman's son, Harvey, said the experience left him with a lot of questions.
"It just made you think, 'What happened out here? Who else has been out here recently?'" said Harvey, an eighth-grader.
Kelton Davies, who is in seventh grade, said sheriff's deputies explained to him that they find two or three bodies in the area each year.
Contributing: Mike Headrick
