WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah, April 30, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Washington County Search and Rescue crews have found the body of a 33-year-old woman who went missing after she left a campsite in the Little Creek Mountain area, southwest of the town of Apple Valley, where she was camping with her husband and son.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said SAR volunteers found the body of Sarah Frances (Yasuda) Cox at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“Although the official cause of death will be determined by the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, the investigation indicated she was the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” a news release from the sheriff’s office states.
Detectives are still investigating the circumstances leading up to her death, the news release says, but foul play is not suspected at this time.
An earlier release from WCSO said Cox was reported to have left the campsite on foot Sunday evening.
“She was possibly headed toward Hurricane. When she failed to return to the campsite by the following day, her husband reported her missing to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office,” the earlier release said.
Apple Valley is approximately 10 miles southeast of Hurricane.
Sheriff’s deputies and Washington County SAR responded to the area to search for the woman, but had to terminate the search early because of the severe thunderstorms that hit the area.
A helicopter from the Utah Highway Patrol Aero Bureau was dispatched to assist search and rescue efforts as they resumed Tuesday afternoon.
I hope the police look into this further… there’s more to the story.