CACHE COUNTY, Utah, Sept. 10, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have released the name of a hiker whose body was recovered Wednesday in Logan Canyon.
The victim has been identified as 77-year-old William Bud Mortensen. He had not been seen since last Sunday.
“He was an avid hiker and it was not unusual for him to spend his Sunday mornings on a 3-to 5-mile hike,” a statement from the Cache County Sheriff’s Office says. “His family was able to provide an area that he usually hiked in, and his car was parked up Right Hand Fork.”
The sheriff’s office was alerted on Tuesday, and members of its search and rescue team spent that evening combing the area, with help from Mortensen’s family and friends. After darkness fell, the search was delayed until 8 a.m. Wednesday.
“Members of the Search and Rescue team, aided by family members and friends, continued the search on horseback, motorcycles, ATVs and on foot. A helicopter responded from the Department of Public Safety and provided additional aid by searching from the air.
“At about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the body fo Mr. Mortensen was found in a heavily wooded area.”
Lt. Doyle Peck, Cache County Sheriff’s Office, told Gephardt Daily on Wednesday that it was suspected Mortensen suffered a medical incident before he died, but that his cause of death won’t be confirmed until an autopsy.
Peck said the body was found in an area of heavy brush in the Right Hand Fork area. Officials believe Mortensen was looking for a path back to the Old Ephraim’s Grave area. It was “very rough country,” Peck said.
The CCSO statement ends with thanks to all those who helped in the search.
“The Cache County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the many volunteers, both from Search and rescue as well as from family and friends, who put in a strong effort to find and then recover Mr. Mortensen.”
