Authorities have discovered thousands of marijuana plants growing in the mountains of Wayne County.

On Sunday, a hiker near Coleman Reservoir on Boulder Mountain came across a large planting of marijuana, said Wayne County Sheriff Kurt Taylor. The hiker contacted the sheriff's office, and investigators kept surveillance on the operation overnight, he said. But deputies soon determined the operation had been abandoned a few days earlier, possibly because the growers were spooked by hikers.

The Central Utah Narcotics Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office removed approximately 29,000 marijuana plants, in addition to other evidence, that led them to believe the plants had been growing for three to four weeks.

Another marijuana-growing operation was found on the other side of the mountain last year, Taylor said. That one was also abandoned, apparently because the growers were scared off by bears in the area, he said.

— Pat Reavy