Search underway for 21-year-old with autism after his father is found dead while hiking

Search underway for 21-year-old with autism after his father is found dead while hiking

(Utah County Sheriff's Office)


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ALPINE — Police are searching for a 21-year-old man after his father died while the pair were hiking in the area of Jacob's Ladder east of Point of the Mountain.

Another hiker noticed the body of 57-year-old Charles Laughlin around 3:30 p.m. and called police, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. After the West Jordan man's body was found in the area, police called his wife to notify her and she immediately asked whether her son, who is autistic, was OK.

Up until that point, officers had no idea Laughlin had been hiking with someone else, Cannon said.

A search was underway for Michael Laughlin late Friday night before it was called off for the night, Cannon said. The search resumed Saturday morning at "first light." It wasn't immediately clear whether he was injured somewhere, had tried to hunker down for the night or had made his way off the mountain, according to Cannon.

A helicopter was expected to assist ground crews in search efforts overnight.

Charles Laughlin doesn't appear to have died from an accident, and foul play is not suspected, Cannon said. It's likely that he died as the result of a medical episode, the sergeant added, but investigators didn't know for sure late Friday.

Editor's note: Utah County Sherriff's Office initially said Michael Laughlin was 18 years old

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