UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 7, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has located relatives of a man whose remains are believed to be those found in a field in November.
The UCSO posted a notice Thursday morning hoping to locate family members of John Everett Booth after an ID card with that name was found near scattered bone remains found on a leased property west of Geneva Road between Provo and Orem.
“A family member found an ID card and bones in an area about 350 feet from the shore of Utah Lake,” the original statement says. “Until 2018 this area was covered with phragmites, an invasive perennial grass. That year officials with the State of Utah came and removed the phragmites along the shores of Utah Lake. Other than a road running along the shore, the phragmites had, until about 2018, been 6 feet and 8 feet tall on both sides of that road.
“Investigators arrived on scene and confirmed that the bones were human. When the phragmites were cut in 2018 it exposed much of the area where the remains were found. It was clear that the remains had been there for many years. Some of the bones were scattered and some were broken,” possibly as a result of the phragmite cutting in 2018, the statement says.
A UCSO statement issued Thursday evening confirmed relatives of Booth had been located. The remains may have been on the site for as long as 23 years, the statement says.
“We will be working with the Medical Examiner to positively identify the remains as belonging to him,” the update says. “This process is likely to take several months. Thanks to all who reached out with information helping to move this case forward.”
