Body identified as Minnesota man

MOAB — A body found in southern Utah's Canyonlands National Park has been identified as a Minnesota biology professor who went missing last year.

Jerry O. Wolff, 65, of Sartell, Minn., disappeared into a remote part of the park last May after leaving a note to his family that said he was going to the wilderness to return his body to nature.

The St. Cloud State University professor's disappearance prompted an intensive search of the area that lasted several days.

Paul Henderson, a National Park Service spokesman, said Thursday that a hiker found a body March 19 in the park's Needles District. It was recovered and sent to the Utah Medical Examiner's Office. Henderson says Wolff was identified through dental records.

Henderson said it appears Wolff died from a single gunshot to the head.