This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Iron County authorities believe they've found the body of a man who had been missing for nearly two months after he left his family to find help.

A ranch hand found the body under a tree Sunday night, according to a news release from the Iron County sheriff's office. Investigators identified the body as that of 34-year-old Daniel Michael Brown based on items found near it.

Brown's van was stuck in the Kane Springs area on March 28, so he left to find help while his wife and four children stayed behind. The Browns had been living in the van and were reportedly looking for a campsite when the vehicle got stuck.

When he had not returned by the next morning, his wife called 911.

Brown's remains were located about two miles southwest of where his vehicle had been found, east of mile marker 31 on State Road 130, or Minersville Highway.

Based on evidence at the scene, investigators believed Brown – who had left clad only in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers — died the night he left when temperatures dipped into the low 30s.

Though the remains were found in the area authorities searched in late March, the news release said his body likely could not have been seen from farther than a few feet away and would have been "very difficult" to see from an aircraft.

Searchers had been told Brown was headed northeast from his vehicle, rather than southwest.

The body will be sent to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy and verification that the body belonged to Brown.

Twitter: @mnoblenews