The body of an 82-year-old woman from Oregon was found Wednesday on a remote dirt road in Emery County, about 5 miles from where her vehicle had become stuck in a wash, sheriff’s officials reported Thursday.
The woman was identified as 82-year-old Marlene Clark from Oregon.
Emery County detectives found no signs of foul play, but the body was taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a cause of death.
Sheriff’s officials got a call on Wednesday from a German tourist who said he had come upon the body lying in the road near the Mussentuchit Sand Dune, which is about 25 miles from the nearest town, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
Near the body, detectives found plastic grocery bags containing food and water, a cell phone, several forms of I.D, credit cards and cash.
They also found a set of vehicle keys, and began looking for a vehicle — which they found about 5 miles from where the woman’s body was discovered.
It appeared that flash flooding had recently occurred in the area and that the vehicle had become stuck in a wash, the news release said. Several portions of the road were also washed out, but were passable in a four-wheel vehicle.