This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Police have located the body of a 22-year-old Mt. Pleasant man in a remote area of southern Utah County and are investigating the incident as a homicide.
Police identified the body of Wesley Dee Nay, who was reported missing Sept. 18 by family and friends to the Mt. Pleasant Police Department.
On Thursday, hunters came upon what appeared to be a partially dug grave near the Sanpete County border, according to a news release from the Utah County Sheriff's Office. Detectives "discovered human remains in the shallow grave under a thin layer of dirt," the release says.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon said it appeared that there had been a fire at the site, but it was unclear whether the fire had been set to "conceal where the body was found or to disfigure the body."
Nay's remains were then sent to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy, the release says, but due to his body's condition, investigators have yet to determine the man's cause of death. Authorities used dental records to help identify Nay.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office is working with the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office to investigate the case. They are investigating Nay's death as a homicide.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Utah County Sheriff's Office Investigations Division at 801-851-4010 or email Lt. Erik Knutzen at erikk@utahcounty.gov.
Twitter: @mnoblenews