A searcher in a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter spotted the body of a Midvale man in a crevice off the side of a Stansbury Island mountain Monday morning.
The body of Gary Hobson, 49, has been positively identified, Tooele County Sheriff Frank Scharmann said.Search-and-rescue crews have been looking for Hobson since last Tuesday, acting on a phone call from one of Hobson's West Valley City co-workers, who told police the man never returned from a hiking and climbing vacation. Hobson was expected back June 13.
Hobson's body was spotted about 7 a.m. when a UHP helicopter pilot and a search-and-rescue worker flew over the area, which had been previously searched, for another look, Scharmann said.
"We had been close to the area on foot and had flown it three, four or five times," Scharmann said. "We looked at some pictures (Hobson) had (Sunday) night and decided to try one more time."
The pictures were snapshots Hobson had taken of rock formations and other natural landmarks on previous trips to the area. Search-and-rescue crews have been using those pictures to direct their search in the rugged, rocky area of the island which is in the southern-most portion of the Great Salt Lake.
The search has been a tough one on Scharmann's crews. Several have collapsed from heat exhaustion; others suffered sprained ankles, and one person broke a leg during the search.