SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah — A mother and her 6-year-old son were found dead inside Canyonlands National Park after an incident that originated with a suspicious vehicle and is believed to be a murder-suicide.
According to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office, rangers were notified early Thursday morning about a suspicious vehicle parked on Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky District of the national park.
When rangers arrived at the scene, they found the 6-year-old boy unresponsive inside the vehicle. Life-saving measures were performed at the location, but the child was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
The boy's mother was found dead in the same area, but outside the vehicle.
The sheriff's office said the mother and child had been reported missing by the woman's husband and the boy's father in Colorado the day before. The identities of the woman and child have not been released.
The bodies of both victims were transported to the medical examiner's office for further investigation, with the sheriff's office acknowledging that their deaths were being investigated as a homicide and suicide.
"This is a heartbreaking tragedy, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family during this incredibly difficult time," the sheriff's office wrote. "Our investigators are diligently working on this case. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest any ongoing threat to public safety.
