Body of Hiker Missing for Days Found in Utah - East Idaho News
Utah

Body of Hiker Missing for Days Found in Utah

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Cottonwood Heights, UT (KSL) — The body of a hiker who had been missing for five days was found Tuesday.

Benjamin Kritzer, 28, of Saratoga Springs, was last heard from Thursday, and his vehicle was located at the trailhead of Ferguson Canyon on Saturday.

KSL reports his body was discovered around 5 p.m. Tuesday nearly a mile up the canyon, about 200 yards off the nearest trail.

Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke said Kritzer likely died in a fall from a spot that was “steep and snowy and slick.” A family member first spotted him, Lohrke said.

“It was just a heart-wrenching ordeal to see what the family had to go through. … This is an experience parents should not have to go through,” he said.

No official search occurred Tuesday in order “to give our search and rescue team a breather,” Lohrke noted.

However, Lohrke said police who patrol the canyon were making it a priority to look for any sign of Kritzer. Patrol officers were with the family when Kritzer’s body was found, he said.

The area where Kritzer was found had previously been searched, but it was “heavily embedded by snow” at the time, he said. After a weekend of storms, snow cover in the canyon decreased the effectiveness of searching for Kritzer through the air, according to Lohrke.

Kritzer, who recently moved to Utah from North Carolina, would typically check in with his family after returning safely from a hiking trip, police have said. Kritzer was last heard from Thursday morning, when he texted a photo of a wildflower to a family member.

His family contacted police when he didn’t show up for work the next day. It wasn’t clear precisely where Kritzer had gone hiking until his vehicle was located, Lohrke said.

The lieutenant recommended a few safety tips for all hikers going into Utah’s mountains as the weather continues to get warmer.

“Please be careful — go through the proper channels in telling people where you’re going to go hike, take the proper resources, and always go with somebody also,” he said.

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