GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah — A medical examiner identified the remains found in southern Utah this week to be those of a man who had gone missing while hiking in Garfield County in January.
Austin Madsen went missing while hiking in the backcountry in late January. His truck was found days later in the Dry Hollow area on Mount Dutton, but Madsen was never located.
The Garfield County Sheriff's Office said shed hunters found the body of an adult male on Monday near Mount Dutton, five miles northwest of the area where Madsen's truck was located.
After determining the death was of natural causes, the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and using dental records to compare with the remains, the body was identified as Madsen.
In January, video taken by Madsen was shared by law enforcement agencies with the hopes that someone would recognize the area. After his truck was found, teams followed a trail of footprints that were believed to have been left by Madsen, but had to call off the search due to extreme weather.
Officials scaled back their search, which included air support, in early February after a nearly weeklong effort failed to find any sign of Madsen. More recently, the Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs were used in an unsuccesful search led by Garfield County deputies in May.
Madsen's family was notified Wednesday that his remains had been recovered
"Garfield County Sheriff's Office would like to express our deepest condolences to the Madsen family," the department posted to social media.
