SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah, Sept. 24, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The body of a missing Colorado man has been recovered near Lake Powell.
“On Saturday, Sept. 19, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Robert Sanders, a 50-year-old male from Centennial, Colorado took a hike from the houseboat he was staying on in Mountain Sheep Canyon on Lake Powell and did not return,” said a news release from the National Park Service. “He was part of a group of seven who stated Mr. Sanders wanted to get a better vantage point to look at another houseboat in the area that had flags displayed.”
At 7:42 p.m. they reported him as missing to the NPS Glen Canyon Communications Center via marine band radio.
“On Sunday, Sept. 20, NPS rangers responded to Mountain Sheep Canyon where an extensive search took place with ground crews, a helicopter from Classic Lifeguard, and the NPS fixed wing aircraft. The search continued on land Sept. 21 and 22. On Sept. 22 the NPS Dive Team was also activated to conduct a water search of the area.”
At approximately 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Sander’s body was located. He was found on land approximately two hours by foot away from the houseboat, and 15 minutes from the shore. Searchers found tracks and it appears he hiked along the shore of Lake Powell before turning inland. The cause of his death is under investigation.
National Park Service rangers transported the individual to the Halls Crossing Marina where he was transferred to a San Juan County Sheriff’s Office Medical Investigator. He will be transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City. The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service and San Juan County Sheriff’s Office while awaiting the findings of the Medical Examiner.
“The National Park Service and San Juan County Sheriff’s Office express our condolences to the family,” the news release said. “No further details are available at this time.”
Mountain Sheep Canyon is located two canyons upstream of Dangling Rope Marina, the news release said. It consists of a waterway side canyon from the Main Channel of Lake Powell inside San Juan County. Terrain in this area is made up of sandstone slopes and cliffs and water depths ranging from a few feet to 80 feet.
