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Body found in Garfield County identified as Mapleton man missing since January

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Body found in Garfield County identified as Mapleton man missing since January


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PANGUITCH — A body found earlier this week is the remains of a Utah County man who has been missing since January, according to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies received a report from shed hunters that human remains had been found near Mount Dutton around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The remains were taken to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville, where they were identified as belonging to Austin Madsen, 32, of Mapleton.

Madsen was last heard from on Jan. 27 when he sent a friend a video from a snow-covered mountain in southern Utah, which police later pinpointed to the Mount Dutton area.

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Deputies began a search and rescue operation on Jan. 29 based out of the Dry Hollow area, around 5 miles southeast of where Madsen’s remains were discovered. The search continued through Feb. 3 when “all leads had become exhausted,” the news release reads.

Another search was conducted with the help of rescue dogs on May 20, but no new leads were uncovered.

A medical examiner was among the first to respond when the body was found and determined the death was the result of natural causes.

Madsen’s father, Aron Madsen, said his son had bipolar disorder and suffered mental health crises every few years.

“He just wanted to leave Mapleton to get away and clear his head, and was heading to Arizona, south of Kanab, but something distracted him and took him to Mount Dutton until he got his truck stuck in the snow,” he told KSL-TV in February.

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Madsen is survived by his wife, Emily Madsen, and two young sons.

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Bridger Beal-Cvetko covers Utah politics, Salt Lake County communities and breaking news for KSL.com. He is a graduate of Utah Valley University.

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Utah

Utah is now completely out of drought status

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Utah is now completely out of drought status


SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time in five years, the entire state of Utah is out of a drought status.

The latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows no part of the state being in drought status, though about 25% is still considered abnormally dry.

“Portions of the state, mainly along that eastern and southern border, are abnormally dry,” KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson said. “But basically, we are completely out of a drought.”

Johnson says this is because Utah’s most recent wet winters have been crucial in restoring the state’s water supply.

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“We’ve had two really good winters, one of them record-setting, as far as snow-water equivalent. So this has been huge for getting us on the right path.”

However, Johnson said whether we stay out of drought conditions will be contingent on how hot it gets this summer, and how much rain Utah gets when monsoon season hits. 

“If we’re not in a drought, now we are planning for the next,” Johnson said, quoting a saying from The Utah Department of Natural Resources. “That just kind of comes with the territory…we are one of the top three driest on average so it’s not foreign territory for us to have dry weather.”

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“Planting parties” at Utah Lake working to rid the lake of invasive phragmites

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“Planting parties” at Utah Lake working to rid the lake of invasive phragmites


UTAH COUNTY, Utah — The Utah Lake Authority is hosting “planting parties” to put native vegetation in places where invasive plant species had previously been spreading.

Phragmites are a type of reed that have been taking over at Utah Lake and places across the country. Utah Lake Authority’s Deputy Director Sam Braegger said they have been partnering with other agencies to keep the phragmites at bay.

Now Braegger said they’re working toward revegetation with lots of groups who want to help them plant more native species.

“It’s been great to have groups come and help in that way, and I think they find it very fulfilling to spend an hour or two on the shoreline,” he said. “Our staff are all out there with them. They get to learn and ask questions about the lake. And then, help give back in putting plants into the ground.”

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Utah Lake Authority has spent more than 15 years dealing with phragmites, according to Braegger.

“Beating back the phragmites has been necessary for some time because phragmites is very aggressive,” he said. “It grows in very thickly, so it’s terrible habitat. There’s not very much of wildlife, birds and fish, that can get in there.”

This is the Utah Lake Authority’s first time doing a “concentrated revegetation” effort.

“We’ve put out some seed before, in recent years, but just seed is all we’ve done,” Braegger said. “This year, for the first time, we’re going out and actually planting 10,00 plugs.”

Braegger said the goal is to plant over 40,000 seed plugs next year.

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Heather Peterson is a reporter and producer for KSL NewsRadio. She also produces Utah’s Noon News.

Potentially toxic algal bloom detected at Utah Lake

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Videos show fireworks veer into crowd at Stadium of Fire concert in Utah, injuries reported

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Videos show fireworks veer into crowd at Stadium of Fire concert in Utah, injuries reported


Multiple videos have surfaced Thursday evening showing a fireworks display at the Stadium of Fire concert in Provo, Utah, with rogue shots straying into the audience. Early reports state that one person was taken to a hospital with serious injuries while others were reportedly injured.

Several firefighters immediately responded to reports of injuries in the crowd, according to Fox 13 in Salt Lake City.

Fireworks at large gatherings in Utah are nothing new, like the ones that lit up the sky above the stadium for the grand finale of the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games at the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The incident happened at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the football facility for Brigham Young University. Just as the national anthem is heard ending, and as four fighter jets fly over the stadium, a fireworks display begins behind the stage.

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Fireworks shot into the sunlit sky vertically, but stray sparks are seen firing horizontally into the crowd near the stage. Crowdgoers were reportedly seen waving their hands in the air for officials to render help.

Freedom Festival, which facilitates Stadium of Fire and other yearly events across the country, tweeted that all fireworks were “thoroughly checked” before Thursday’s show and then checked again after the incident.

“Safety is of the utmost importance to us. All pyrotechnics at Stadium of Fire are thoroughly checked before the show, and were rechecked after tonight’s incident. Our thoughts are with those who were impacted, and we are following up with them to make sure they are okay.”

UTAH FIRE CAPTAIN DIES IN COLORADO RAFTING ACCIDENT AT DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT

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After a pause in activities, the concert resumed with Jonas Brothers taking the stage around 9 p.m. and closing out the show with no other reported mishaps.

Provo Police Department spokesperson Janna-Lee Holland told KUTV the incident happened just after the flyover.

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The number of injuries and each of their severities is unknown at the time.

Videos like the one seen in this tweet show pyrotechnics not only firing into the stands, but also onto the field where people were either standing or in a seated area.

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