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DUCHESNE, Duchesne County — Officials have confirmed the human remains pulled from Starvation Reservoir in September 2024 are those of a man who disappeared over 20 years ago.
Steven Willard Anderson was 46 years old when he was last seen in June 2004. The Utah Department of Public Safety says he left to paint a family cabin in Flaming Gorge driving a leased vehicle but never arrived.
His disappearance was highlighted in media coverage in March 2022, bringing the case to the attention of Doug Bishop with nonprofit United Search Corps, and Dave Sparks, a popular Utah-based entrepreneur and internet personality who owns a heavy rescue and recovery company, according to a previous press release from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The collaboration with law enforcement began in April 2024, after a meeting with cold case detective Ben Pender. In September, Bishop found a submerged vehicle around 50 feet deep in Starvation Reservoir, just west of Duchesne.
It was "confirmed to be connected to Anderson's case," a press release said, beginning a "complex recovery operation that required immense expertise" and was successful in the "extraction of both the vehicle and the remains found inside."
Those remains were sent to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner and later a private lab, confirming a DNA match with Anderson. Experts concluded that no foul play was suspected.
