This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Searchers have found the body of a Kanab man who has been missing since Sunday in Canyonlands National Park.
The body of Kenneth Johnson, 69, was found Saturday afternoon in the Davis Canyon area. He was about 50 feet from his Jeep Liberty, which appeared to have become stuck in the sand. His body was in the shade of a cedar tree, still clutching a shovel, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.
"Mr. Johnson did have a history of heart disease and it is presumed that he may have experienced heart problems while digging out his stuck vehicle," according to a sheriff's office news release.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, someone had spotted Johnson's Jeep near the canyon.
Johnson had gone looking for petroglyphs in the rural areas of San Juan County. Officers from eight agencies searched Utah's vast southeastern desert for Johnson, trying to retrace his steps to the rock art sites and flying a plane across the "massive" county looking for him or his dark blue Jeep Liberty, sheriff's Sgt. Joe Harris said earlier.
After several fruitless days, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office asked on Thursday morning that anyone with information about Johnson's whereabouts to call them. Verizon had tried to ping Johnson's cell, to no avail.
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