Searchers find body of missing hiker


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The family of a hiker missing in Tooele County for four days reacts to the news that his body has been found. Forty-year-old Jay Adamson went for a hike on Wednesday and never returned. Today, his body was found at the bottom of a cliff in the Lakeside mountain range.

Adamson leaves behind a wife and six children. The message his family wants to get out tonight is how grateful they are to those who helped bring them closure.

Adamson's family is grieving tonight, but they say they also have some peace. His father, Don Adamson, said, "One great thing is we have closure. At least we found Jay."

His body was found this morning by a volunteer combing the Lakeside Mountains. Officials say it appears he fell off a cliff. Frank Park, with the Tooele County Sheriff's Office, said, "It looks like he succumbed to those injuries the first day he was out here."

During the search, an infrared helicopter searched from the sky as volunteers and officials combed the Lakeside mountain range.

Although Adamson was an avid outdoorsman, he was also an insulin-dependent diabetic, something that greatly concerned those looking for him. Officials aren't sure if his illness played any part in his death. "He definitely fell. We don't know why, we don't know how," Park said.

But his family says, for now, they know all they need to. "Knowing that he is gone, we can accept that. Not knowing where he is would be difficult," Don said. And they say they are grateful to those who assisted in the search. "They were so helpful and so kind and so considerate," Don added.

In lieu of flowers, the Adamson family is asking for donations to a college fund for Jay's six children. It's at America First Credit Union under their father's name.

E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com

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