Hiker found safe after night in the mountains

Published: Sunday, June 14 2009 4:37 p.m. MDT

A 19-year-old Farmington man was found safe Sunday afternoon, but suffering from exposure, after spending a rainy night lost in the mountains between Farmington Canyon and the Morgan Valley.

Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Harper said the man, who was not identified, left for a drive Saturday without notifying his family or taking his cell phone. Concerned family members alerted Davis County authorities Saturday evening after his truck was found at the top of Farmington Canyon near the Federal Aviation Administration radar towers.

Harper said a search was instigated involving Davis County Search and Rescue, sheriff's deputies and a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter. Severe weather Saturday evening ended the search after several hours, but it was resumed at 6 a.m. Sunday with about 35 searchers, divided into 10 teams and the DPS helicopter scouring the area.

Harper said searchers spent the day Sunday in rugged territory and some teams rappelled down cliffs in an effort to locate the man, who was found about 2:45 p.m. by a team searching from Morgan Valley, on the other side of the peaks at the top of Farmington Canyon.

The man was shirtless, shoeless and confused, Harper said, and transported to an Ogden hospital for care.

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com

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