Missing Park City man found

PARK CITY — A 20-member search team and a helicopter scouring the Uinta Mountains found a missing Park City man Tuesday.

The family of James Edmunds, 64, had reported him missing after he drove off following a family dispute Saturday night. A search-and-rescue team had been looking for him since he was spotted in the mountains Monday. A member of the search-and-rescue team found him in fair condition in the Washington Lake area Tuesday and returned him to his family.

Before Edmunds was found, evidence suggested that he more than likely wanted to get away, said Summit County Sheriff's Office detective Ron Bridge.

Around 1 a.m. Monday, the sight of Edmunds' burning car on a dirt road startled a camper at the Washington Lake campground. The camper and his family ran up to see Edmunds by the side of his car, but when they saw he was behaving suspiciously, they decided to keep their distance, Bridge said. Edmunds' family did mention that he was distraught and possibly suicidal, Bridge said.

Detectives believe the car caught fire accidentally. Edmunds had driven his Suzuki onto a rough road, two miles east of the Mirror Like Highway, and the car caught on a boulder. "Either the gas tank was compromised, or it overheated from getting stuck," Bridge said. Detectives also found a small handgun in Edmunds' scorched car.

The search stopped Monday when night fell, and resumed at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

If Edmunds didn't want to come back, searchers weren't going to return him to Park City against his will. If he wasn't ready to come back and competent and capable of taking care of himself, they would've left him alone, Bridge said. But they would have told his family where he is, he said.

The Edmunds family could not be reached for comment.

e-mail: mmcfall@desnews.com