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WEST JORDAN — Searches were being conducted Friday in six new areas in hopes of finding a West Jordan police officer who has been missing since Tuesday.
Jedediah "JR" Steadman, 34, left his home Tuesday morning in a navy blue, 1998 Dodge pickup. Steadman and his wife had argued the previous evening, but things seemed fine when he left, according to West Jordan Police Sgt. Dan Roberts.
"We haven't heard from or seen him since," Roberts said.
Friday was the first day when Steadman would have been expected to show up at work. Instead, searchers looked for the missing officer, pursuing leads throughout the state in previously unsearched areas, including in Tooele and Summit counties.
Police said Steadman enjoys the outdoors and likes to fish and hunt. Officials believe he might be stranded somewhere, and his wife and family members are “very concerned and express their love and support,” Roberts said in a statement.
At the end of the day, West Jordan police announced online that they had scoured all of the places where they believed they would most likely find Steadman. The department will not be coordinating any more volunteer searches until they have new leads on where to look.
"We ask for your continued prayers and support as our investigation continues," the statement sai
Steadman is a seven-year veteran of the police department who was recently promoted to detective in the property crimes unit.
"(We have) no reason to believe anything of suicide or harm to himself or anybody else, or foul play — nothing," Roberts said. "(We) have no indications for any of that."
It is unclear whether Steadman had a wallet, food, water or proper outdoor clothing with him when he left.
Nadalee Nunnely, a former dispatcher for the Valley Emergency Communications Center who knew Steadman through her work, put together a Facebook group to help coordinate search efforts.
He's definitely on everyone's mind. He's got a lot of people that love and care about him — a lot. More so than I'm sure he even realizes.
–Nadalee Nunnely, former dispatcher
"He's definitely on everyone's mind," Nunnely said. "He's got a lot of people that love and care about him — a lot. More so than I'm sure he even realizes."
Steadman is white, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair, according to police. He was last seen in the Dodge pickup, with large mudflaps over the tires and a fallen officer memorial decal on license plate B963D.
Police are asking those who spot Steadman or his truck not to approach him but to call West Jordan police with a location at 801-840-4000 and refer to case No. 14H018087.
Anyone interested in joining the search effort is asked to report to the West Jordan Police Department, 8040 S. Redwood Road. Police are asking people not to search for Steadman alone.
Contributing: Nicole Vowell and Geoff Liesik
