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MILLCREEK — Unified police on Friday confirmed that skeletal remains found by hikers in Millcreek Canyon are human.
Thursday night, hikers were near Dog Lake between Millcreek and Big Cottonwood canyons when their dog ran off the trail into some brush, said Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke.
When the dog did not immediately return, the hikers followed it into the brush. That's where they found skeletal remains, Lohrke said. The hikers contacted Unified police, who waited until daylight on Friday to hike to the scene.
About a mile and a half up Big Water Trail, Lohrke said search and rescue crews found "a good portion" of remains, including a skull. The remains were in "an advanced stage of decomposition," meaning they had been there awhile. Some clothes were also found, but there was no identification located.
The remains were taken to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office for identification. Lohrke said investigators do have outstanding cases of missing people in that area.
Last December, Unified police, with assistance from a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter, searched for Blake Richardson, 24, who was last seen in the Dog Lake area by hikers begging for food. Richardson, who has a history of mental illness, had walked away from the Salt Lake Behavioral Health Center with his dog. The dog was found in Millcreek Canyon on Dec. 16.
