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PARAGONAH, Iron County — Police found the body of a California man near an Iron County campsite Monday after multiple calls from concerned family members over the weekend prompted officers to search the area.
The man, in his early 70s, arrived in the area around Thursday to camp, said Iron County Sheriff's Lt. Del Schlosser. He was found dead about a mile from his campsite near state Route 20 and Buckskin Road, roughly 20 miles northeast of Paragonah.
Sheriff's deputies first visited the area to conduct a welfare check around 10 p.m. Saturday at the request of the man's family members and found a hunting campsite where he was supposed to be, but couldn't find him, Schlosser said.
Family members, who also live outside Utah, told police they would wait to see whether the man called them Sunday. Police and Iron County Search and Rescue scoured the area around the camp a second time late Sunday afternoon after the man's loved ones reported he still hadn't called, Schlosser said.
The search was called off around 2 a.m. Sunday. Deputies returned Monday morning and found the man's body.
"This death is not suspicious in nature and no foul play is suspected," Schlosser said in a statement.
The man, whose name wasn't immediately released, did not have any obvious injuries on his body when he was found, Schlosser said. He said the man was not suicidal, and family members were concerned only after not hearing from him. The man was reportedly camping alone.
Schlosser didn't say how long the man may have been dead before his body was located. The state medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy on the body.
