Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Mia Casto, 19, was found dead near Rudd Creek, Farmington, after being reported missing.
- Police used K-9s, drones, helicopters, and search teams in the search effort.
- Local resident Brad MacDonald recounted Casto's last known whereabouts and expressed regret.
FARMINGTON — Police say the body of a 19-year-old woman was found Sunday, a day after she was reported missing.
According to a news release, the Farmington Police Department says the body was found in the area of Rudd Creek above Farmington. Additionally, police say Mia Casto, 19, was reported missing by her family around 12:40 p.m. Saturday and was last seen near some homes at the entrance to Farmington Canyon.
Police used K-9s, aerial drones, two helicopters from the Department of Public Safety and search crews from the Davis County Search and Rescue Team to locate the missing woman.
"The Farmington City Police Department extends its deepest condolences to Mia's family, friends, and loved ones," the release states. "We also offer our gratitude to the Department of Public Safety, Davis County Search and Rescue, the Davis County Sheriff's Office, the Centerville Police Department and all others that aided in the search efforts."
No other information was provided.
Residents react
KSL-TV spoke to Brad MacDonald, who said Casto came to his house Friday afternoon. He said it was likely she was last seen there.
"It was about 12:30 in the afternoon, and I was working out of my office," he said. "She came walking in. I thought it was one of my daughter's friends."
MacDonald said no one in his family knew Casto or had seen her before, and she seemed confused. He said she spoke with his 16-year-old daughter for a while before she left their house and disappeared.
"I told my daughter to follow her while I called the police, and so she followed her, and she walked out," he said. "She kind of walked over to the side of our house, and then they watched her walk across the road. There's a trailhead that goes up into the backcountry up there."
Nowhere to be found
MacDonald said officers arrived at his home within minutes, but no one found Casto. He said he didn't know she had been reported missing until friends and neighbors alerted him Saturday.
"I had felt guilty all day yesterday just knowing that she was here in our house and we could have maybe stopped her or helped her more," he said.
He and his wife said they gathered a group of trail-running friends. He said they looked for Casto for about four hours Sunday morning. MacDonald said they were sorry to hear her body had been found by law enforcement crews.
"It was very emotional," he said. "I think we all, especially those of us who went up and looked for her this morning, none of us knew her at all. But you feel a connection to her when you're up there looking for her and then find out that she had passed away."
