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ST. GEORGE — Kane County sheriff's deputies and detectives located human remains and clothing remnants in the Duck Creek Ridge area of Dixie National Forest, around 30 miles southeast of Cedar City. They believe the remains belong to Courtney Townsend, a St. George woman who went missing in November.
Townsend was last seen Nov. 16, when she took her mother's car without permission, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. The car was found in the forest south of Duck Creek days later, on Nov. 19, and it appeared to have gotten stuck on some rocks and had been burned, a Kane County Sheriff's Office press release states.
The 32-year-old's family continued searching for her with no success, until someone driving an ATV saw clothing on the side of the road and reported it, thinking "it might be important," the release said.
Search and rescue members and trained dogs then found additional remains, which will all be taken to the Utah State Medical Examiner's office for further investigation. Kane County and St. George police have been working on the case for almost six months, but "were hampered because of snow fall," which made a ground search impossible until it melted this spring, according to the release.
On Jan. 8, the St. George Police Department shared a missing person post on social media for Townsend, reporting the woman had been missing since late last year.
