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EUREKA, Juab County — Authorities are searching for two Utah teens who have been missing for nearly a week. The young couple left Tooele Saturday en route to Eureka in Juab County, but never made it.
Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson, 17, and Riley Powell, 18, were planning to stop in Spanish Fork before going home to Eureka where both teens live with Powell's grandfather, according to Juab County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brent Pulver.
Family members reported the two missing on Tuesday after failing to hear from the couple.
Tooele County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Johnson said Powell enjoyed exploring off-road. Officials believe the couple may have gone on a dirt road and become stuck. The Tooele County Sheriff's Office is assisting the Juab County Sheriff's Office who has the lead in the case.
Search and rescue crews, including the Utah Off Road Recovery Team, have been searching for Powell's late 1990s, early 2000s blue Jeep Cherokee along the dirt roads off state Route 36, the Five Mile Pass area and the East Tintic Mountains.
Johnson said family members have told searchers that Powell's Jeep had more than 200,000 miles on it, and the tires "weren't great." There has not been a significant snowstorm in the search area recently, however, and the frozen ground lowered any chance of becoming stuck in the mud, Johnson said.
Pulver, who has known Powell for years, says this is uncharacteristic of the teens. Police have no reason, as of yet, to believe the couple ran away or are injured.
The teens were driving a dark blue Jeep with license plate number 674VWV. They have old cellphones that only use Wi-Fi but do not have cellphone numbers attached to them.
Contributing: Pat Reavy and Caitlin Burchill
