News

Actions

Crews recover body of missing man at Pineview Reservoir

Posted at 2:57 PM, May 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-26 20:40:36-04

WEBER COUNTY, Utah -- It's not the news they were hoping for, but after their loved one was missing for a week and a half, Tanya Shultz says there is some comfort in knowing the search for her husband is over.

“It was something we needed to not go through, wondering where he was," Shultz said. "It's nice to know we can bring him home."

Joseph Shultz, 39, was last seen at his mother's home on Sunday, May 15. His sister, Dawn Shultz, says it’s been very difficult for their family the past few weeks.

“He was the best brother I could've hoped for, and I told him that all the time," Dawn Shultz said. "Very loving, supportive, service minded. He'd be willing to do anything for anybody at any time."

The next day, his car was at turn-off on Highway 39 next to the Pineview Reservoir with the back window smashed, according to Lt. Lane Findlay with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.

“We did have some other burglaries, some cars that were broken into along the reservoir that weekend in that same time frame, so were guessing it’s probably related to that. Just a coincidence,” Lt. Findlay said of the damage to the vehicle.

Search and rescue crews tried to locate Shultz three times unsuccessfully, but they were finally able to find him Thursday in a location not far from where his car was found a week ago.

At this point, authorities aren't sure how he died.

"We don't know the circumstances of his death or how he ended up in the water," Findlay said. "There are several things that we're looking at. Several possibilities."

Deputies are waiting for the results of an autopsy and toxicology report to determine the cause of the death. Those results may not be available for another few weeks.