Body found in Southern Utah identified as man reported missing 4 months earlier

Photo of Austin Madsen, believed who went missing in Garfield County, Utah around Jan. 29, 2023, and whose remains were found four months later, on May 29, 2023 | Image courtesy of Facebook, St. George News

PANGUITCH — Human remains found in Garfield County on Memorial Day have been identified as belonging to a Utah County man who went missing four months earlier.

Hikers looking for shed antlers located the body of what appeared to be an adult male near Mount Dutton on Monday afternoon, according to a Garfield County Sheriff’s Office news release sent out Thursday. 

According to the news release, a medical examiner who was among the first to respond to the scene determined that Madsen’s death was from natural causes, having succumbed to the elements. The decomposed remains were then sent to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, which used dental records to identify the deceased individual as 32-year-old Austin Madsen of Mapleton. 

As previously reported, search and rescue teams began searching for Madsen on Jan. 29 in the Dry Hollow area, near where his vehicle had been located. According to reports, Madsen had last been seen alive on Jan. 27.

“Though the search had to be suspended temporarily due to extreme winter weather, personnel from Garfield, Piute, Sevier, and Iron counties continued an intensive search and rescue operation until all leads had become exhausted on Feb. 3,” the news release stated, adding that a more recent search involving a team of Rocky Mountain Rescue dogs had been conducted the weekend of May 20, although nothing was found.

Madsen’s body was found approximately 5 miles from where the initial searches were based, according to the release.

On Wednesday, Fredonia (Arizona) Police Department officers assisted in notifying Madsen’s next of kin that his body had been recovered. 

“The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the partnerships and interagency efforts put forth by everyone involved throughout the search process,” the news release added, saying it expressed its deepest condolences to the Madsen family and asked that any requests for further information be made by contacting either the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office at 435-676-2678 or the Mapleton Police Department at 801-489-9668.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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