Davis County Sheriff's Search and Rescue on Friday evening found the body of a Magna man who had been missing since Monday.
Salt Lake and Davis counties sheriffs' officers conducted an intense search of Neff's Canyon on Friday for Benjamin Hoecherl, 27. Around 8 p.m., a Davis County search-and-rescue member found Hoecherl's body hanged by rope in a thick wooded area, officials said.
"It appears he's been dead for several days ... It appears to be self-inflicted," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Lt. Don Hutson. Even so, he said, "we're still going to investigate it and approach it like a homicide."
Hoecherl hadn't been seen since he left his home Monday morning. He told his wife, who is seven months pregnant, he was going out to run errands, Hutson said. The couple reportedly had been having financial problems.
After Hoecherl failed to return home and then missed work Tuesday, his family set out to check the local trailheads and mountains, thinking he might have gone hiking to relieve stress.
Searchers found his body in dense brush just east of the Neff Canyon trailhead parking area, where authorities found his car parked Tuesday.
Sheriffs used two helicopters, forensic police dogs and searchers earlier Friday, Hutson said. Several random items were discovered, but as of Friday afternoon, none of them could be positively linked to Hoecherl.
Before his body was found, Hoecherl's car was taken to the sheriff's evidence garage so investigators could scour it for possible clues to what happened, Hutson said.
Many of Hoecherl's friends and family members have been at the canyon assisting the search since his car was discovered.
They say he had no apparent suicidal tendencies.
Contributing: Jacob Hancock
e-mail: preavy@desnews.com