MILLCREEK — The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that searchers found the body of a hiker who was reported missing after he didn’t return from a hike Sunday in Millcreek Canyon.
The agency said Tuesday afternoon the search is over, and rescue crews found the body of David Ethier, 38, of Canada.
Ethier was hiking with his dog Saturday when he was hit by an avalanche and swept under the snow, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Ethier’s dog was spotted afterward and the dog was recovered alive Sunday.
Officials found his car at the Porter Fork trailhead, and contact with his family indicated he was overdue from his hike.
Search and rescue crews started braving the snowy conditions in Millcreek Canyon Sunday evening looking for Ethier. The search was paused overnight and continued on Monday and again on Tuesday.
Crews were also taking precautions due to avalanche risk including avalanche mitigation, Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy Arlan Bennett said. Ethier was found more than 2.5 miles off the main trailhead, and the conditions were “brutal” for searchers, he added.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in the statement. “Our hearts go out to the family as they grieve the loss of their loved one.”
Snow totals from the weekend storm were not available for Millcreek Canyon, but areas in the nearby Big and Little Cottonwood canyons received over 2 feet of snow as of Sunday evening, per the National Weather Service.
The weather service issued a warning of high avalanche danger Monday that is in effect across the Uinta Mountains, Wasatch Range, Bear River Range and the Wellsville Mountains through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
