Man found dead in Southern Utah following search-and-rescue effort

Stock image, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An 80-year-old man from Arizona who went missing in a remote area of Kane County last weekend was found dead by searchers several hours later.

According to a news release from Kane County Sheriff’s Office, the family of Roger Stricklett of Phoenix had called Garfield County dispatchers at 6:10 p.m. Saturday to report that Stricklett was missing in Southern Utah.

“The family had been tracking his phone and the last known location was on the Hole in the Rock Road,” the news release stated.

Deputies subsequently found Stricklett’s Toyota truck, with its engine still running, parked in the road about two miles south of the Dry Fork turnoff.

The responding officers then looked inside the unlocked truck and found a dog that had died. 

“Mr. Stricklett’s phone and other provisions were still in the truck,” the news release added.

A search was then organized to find the missing man. A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter crew deployed from St. George assisted in the search effort until dark.

Meanwhile, a total of 13 Kane County Search and Rescue personnel also responded, along with multiple search dogs.

Although recent rainstorms had washed away the footprints from around the truck, the searchers were able to pick up a set of tracks believed to be Stricklett’s.

After following the tracks for several miles and several hours, the searchers were eventually able to locate Stricklett at about 3:45 a.m. on Sunday. 

“Unfortunately, Mr. Stricklett had passed away,” the release said, adding that the body was later transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City for an autopsy and further investigation.

The rescuers estimated that Stricklett had wandered a total of 10 miles since leaving his vehicle, although he was only about 3 miles from the truck when his body was found, the news release stated.

“This search is a great example of the abilities of the many dedicated volunteers from the Kane County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue,” Alan Alldredge, emergency manager for Kane County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in the release. “They donate thousands of hours every year to train and respond to incidents like this.”

Sheriff Tracy Glover also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the search and rescue volunteers, as well as condolences to Stricklett’s family.

The incident was one of two major calls handled by Kane County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday night, as its officers also responded to a plane crash that same evening at Lake Powell that killed two French tourists. The pilot and four of the passengers, three of whom were seriously injured, managed to escape the plane before it submerged into the lake, Associated Press reported.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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