ST. GEORGE — A Dammeron Valley man has been missing since Friday morning after he didn’t show up for a scheduled job with the metal-working/gate business he worked for.
Spring Dykstra, the mother of Tanner Marvel, 28, said he told his grandfather around 10 a.m. Friday that he was heading to meet with a business partner and pick up steel for his next job with his grandfather’s St. George-based Black Dog Metal Art business.
Dykstra said her son never showed up for that job in St. George at noon on Friday and hasn’t been seen since.
Dykstra, who lives in Carson City, Nevada, while her son lives with his father and grandparents locally, said her son was the kind of person to always let family know where he was and was also not the kind of person not to show up for a job.
But there is one more factor Dykstra said is very unusual about Marvel’s whereabouts: His dog was left behind. Dykstra said Marvel’s dog Roady was like a son to him.
“He’s named Roady because that dog goes everywhere with him,” Dykstra said. “It’s not like him to go off the beaten path. Not like this where he doesn’t tell us where he’s going.”
The Washington County Sheriff has an active search going to find Marvel’s whereabouts. According to the family, Marvel’s phone last pinged in Santa Clara before losing its charge on Friday at 5 p.m.
Sgt. Joe Hafoka said at this point, deputies have looked at each place that the family said he might be, added the vehicle to a stolen vehicle database and followed tips on possible sightings of the pick-up. All have come up empty.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” Hafoka said. “At this point, we don’t have a whole lot of info of where he might be.”
Hafoka said deputies are looking at “all different angles,” but some of the usual reliable resources, like seeing if bank cards are being used, haven’t been triggered as he said apparently Marvel usually uses cash.
Dykstra works as an administrative law judge, and with that legal background knows that the more hours that pass, the harder it may be to find him.
The timing of the situation is also on the mind of Marvel’s aunt, Kalli Marvel.
“It’s coming up on that 72 hours. This is absolutely completely unlike him. We always tell each other where we’re going,” she said. “People have been out in helicopters looking. My family has been nuts looking for him.”
Family describes Marvel as being passionate about his metalwork and one who prides himself on bringing an artistic touch to the gates, doors and metal artwork he worked on throughout Southern Utah, with Roady along for the ride.
Dykstra also said Marvel is a former U.S. Marine who knows how to deal with extended stays in the outdoors.
“In his perfect world he would be a mountain man,” Dykstra said. “But not letting us know is a different story.”
Tanner Marvel, who wears glasses, is 5-foot-10, 225 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen driving a white 2010 Ford F-150 pick-up with Utah Arches license plate U18 9AU.
Those who have any information that can help lead to Marvel’s whereabouts are asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s office at 435-634-5730 and reference case number 22W002030.
Editor’s note 6:30 p.m., April 26, 2022. Corrected that Marvel’s grandfather, not father, was the last to see him and also corrects the hometown of mother.
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