IRON COUNTY, Utah — Investigators believe a body found in Iron County on Sunday is that of Daniel Brown, a Cedar City man who disappeared in late March.
Daniel Brown/Courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office
Brown, 34, was traveling with his wife and four children on March 29 when their vehicle got stuck on a mountain road in the Kane Springs area, northwest of Parowan, according to a news release from Iron County Sheriff’s Office. Brown walked away from the vehicle in an effort to get help, but never returned.
The next day, after Brown hadn’t returned, Brown’s wife use a cellphone to call for help. Deputies hiked to the car and found the mother and four kids cold but in good condition, the news release said. They were taken back to the Cedar City area.
A search for Brown was conducted, but the search was hampered by snowfall, wind, fog and rain.
Recovery efforts were called off about a week later once searches conducted in the area did not reveal any new evidence. Authorities had believed that it was unlikely Brown would have survived the conditions wearing only a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes.
A new search for Brown was conducted on May 12, when a company from the Wasatch Front area offered their services to search the area with drones and specialized camera equipment. That search was unsuccessful, but it did help investigators to eliminate further search areas.
A ranch hand for a local rancher found the body underneath a tree in an area east of mile post 31 on SR-130 (Minersville Highway), according to a news release issued Monday by the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.
“It appears Brown succumbed to the elements the night [he] went missing based on items from the scene. Temperatures had dipped into the low 30’s the night Brown went missing,” the news release said.
The body will be sent to the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner for an autopsy and positive identification.
