It was not unusual for Scott Hutchings to just go off on his own and explore the verdant expanses of Utah's high mountain ranges.
Diving into a chilly mountain lake "for the thrill of it" also was not unusual for him, Scott's younger brother, Derek, said Mon-day.That thrill may have taken the 19-year-old's life, as divers recovered Hutchings' body Saturday at Hourglass Lake in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
The Medical Examiner's office is reporting the death as an accidental drowning, said Summit County Sheriff's Sgt. Joe Offret. And while officers are waiting for toxicology reports, Offret said interviews with people who were with Hutchings shortly before he left camp indicated the teen had been drinking.
The Lehi fisherman, hiker and construction worker had been reported missing from the high Uintah range after failing to return to a group of friends he was camping with on July 4.
A hiker in the area Saturday apparently saw the Lehi teen's body floating in the center of the lake, Offret said. After rowing out for a better look, the camper called authorities, who recovered the body later that afternoon.
The 16-acre lake, near Kamas, is located about two miles off the Mirror Lake Highway, 45 miles east of Salt Lake City. A nine-day search covered more than 310 square miles.
"It's really kind of hard for us, we're kind of in and out with all the emotions," 13-year-old Derek Hutchings said. "Scott was just a happy guy, he was friendly. And he loved to hike on his own. If he saw a mountain, he'd go hike it."
Derek also described his brother, the second oldest of six children, as generous. He used money earned from his job with Hadco Construction Inc. in Lehi to buy his siblings Nintendo video game systems and stereos.