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, the sheriff’s office 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.
The sheriff’s office received a call 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 news release.
Near the body, detectives found plastic grocery bags containing food and water, a cellphone, several forms of ID, 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 the woman’s body.
It appeared that flash flooding had recently occurred in the area and that the vehicle had become stuck in a wash, the release said. Several portions of the road were also washed out but were passable in a four-wheel vehicle.