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HERRIMAN — The body of a man who went missing after he was last seen heading for classes at Salt Lake Community College last week was found by a police helicopter Tuesday, police said.
The body of Tanner Oblad, 20, was spotted by a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter in the foothills south of Herriman close to a trail in the area, according to Unified police detective Ken Hansen.
"It's not too far from where he lived," Hansen said. "It looks like he just walked up a trail that's up in that area and, for whatever reason, didn't make it back."
Oblad's body was lifted off out of the hills by helicopter and was transported to the medical examiner's office Tuesday afternoon.
Hansen said it was unknown how long Oblad was at the location where his body was found, and the cause of death was not immediately known. However, police were not suspecting foul play.
"The body has been up there apparently for a while. It'll take the medical examiner a day or two to determine (a cause of death)," he said.
Oblad was last seen near 6000 W. Intrigue Drive Wednesday morning heading for classes at SLCC’s Taylorsville campus. Police conducted a search for him the same day that concluded because of cold weather and darkness.
Police were concerned because Oblad had autism and also left without his wallet or phone.
Police started centering their search in the foothills after using surveillance video from businesses and homes to track the direction Oblad was headed on the day he disappeared.
Once they determined he likely had gone to the foothills, they began searching the area by air, Hansen said. Police were able to make an identification at the scene.
"We were hoping, obviously, we'd find him alive," he said. "It's tough on everybody, especially the family when you have to have this kind of news. We were hoping for something better. At least we were able to recover his body today."
