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Police find man dead inside car in Emigration Canyon

Posted at 6:39 PM, Mar 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-29 09:49:17-04

EMIGRATION CANYON, Utah — Investigators with Unified Police found a man in his 30s dead inside a car parked to the side of Emigration Canyon Road.

Police were called to the scene around 5:30 Thursday afternoon after someone reported seeing the car covered with a tarp.

When police arrived, they found yellow smoke coming from the vehicle.

The man was inside the car and already dead when crews arrived.

Investigators believe the smoke was caused by charcoal briquettes that were smoldering in the car’s trunk.

“Apparently the briquettes in the trunk had been lit either for warmth or to remove oxygen,” said Det. Ken Hansen with Unified Police Department.

Hansen said investigators believe the man was homeless and living out of his car.

After originally calling the death “suspicious,” police ruled the man most likely died by suicide. Fox 13 News does not generally report on incidents of apparent suicide unless there is a broader impact to the public, such as a police response or initially suspicious circumstances.

The man has not been identified.

Police urge anyone who may see something suspicious on the side of a road to call law enforcement.  That call may allow authorities to get to the scene in time to save a life.