BODY OF CEDAR TEEN FOUND

A young man missing for three weeks apparently fell to his death in a canyon east of Cedar City.

Two teenage hikers found the body of 18-year-old Jason Edwards on Thursday afternoon about two miles east of town in a steep area at the top of Spring Canyon.Edwards disappeared May 25, just one day before his scheduled high school graduation and was the object of the largest search effort in this area in 20 years.

Iron County Sheriff Ira Schoppmann said there is no evidence of foul play. "It is our opinion he probably slipped while hiking in the area and fell about 150 to 200 feet."

Schoppmann said the two hikers contacted authorities Thursday soon after they found the body, about 2:45 p.m. He said the state medical examiner will perform an autopsy.

Edwards was last seen jogging near his home in the east part of Cedar City. He didn't pick up his check the night of May 25 at a Cedar City restaurant where he was a waiter and did not return home that night. He was reported missing the next day.

Schoppmann said searchers who combed the area in the foothills east of Cedar City a week after his disappearance evidently passed within a few feet of the young man's body.

He estimated that as many as 200 people searched on several occasions.