Town mourns loss of doctor

BLANDING — A day after being charged with illegal looting of archaeological artifacts held sacred by Utah's earliest inhabitants, a prominent southeastern Utah doctor was found dead on his Blanding property.

James Redd, 60, was found near his home at about 4 p.m. Thursday, San Juan County sheriff's chief deputy Grayson Redd said. James Redd was Grayson Redd's cousin.

"There is no further investigation. It was definitely a suicide," the chief deputy said Friday.

James Redd was charged Wednesday with one felony count of theft of Indian tribal property. The charges against two-dozen people came after a 2 1/2-year federal probe that spanned the Four Corners area.

The sheriff's office said Redd had left a note for his family that he would be going down to a pond on their property. When he didn't return, his family became worried and called for help to find him.

The chief deputy said a search of several acres of the family's property was conducted and Redd's body was discovered late Thursday afternoon by his religious leader, who was helping with the search.

At Blanding Clinic on Friday, the doors were locked, and a sign on the door broke the news of his death.

The sign read, "Closed," "In memory of Dr. Redd."

"(Redd) was a doctor of doctors," said Phil Mueller, a relative. "He was devoted to his patients and serving his community … It will be a tremendous loss to the medical community, San Juan and Blanding."

Patients and a nurse said Redd was an excellent physician and an "extremely important person" in the community.

Redd provided medical services throughout southeastern Utah, from Moab to Blanding.

He "delivered half the town," one woman said of Redd.

Mueller said Redd enjoyed spending his time in the outdoors and adventuring with his family. He was an avid hunter who had traveled to Alaska and Canada to bag game.

Some in the community have expressed concerns over how authorities served the warrants and the impact the string of events may have had on Redd.

"With both events, the community has been hit with a double whammy," Mueller said. "People are asking questions like, 'Is this really our country? Is this how we treat all tax-paying citizens?' "

At his Blanding pottery shop, Blanding City Councilman Joe Lyman called the indictments of the 24 people stealing artifacts "ludicrous."

"Where are our priorities?" he asked.