This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tooele County rescuers suspended the search for a soldier who is believed to be missing in the desert south of Dugway Proving Grounds, despite the discovery of his car and hat this weekend.
Crews on Monday verified that a baseball cap they found Sunday belonged to Spc. Joseph Michael Bushling, who has been missing since he left Dugway on May 8 in a borrowed Mitsubishi Lancer. Searchers spotted the hat about six miles west of Bushling's car, which was found Saturday 64 miles southwest of the Army base's main gates.
Bushling, 26, had left a message with a friend saying he had run out of gas on the west side of Granite Mountain, and no one has seen him since. Military authorities scoured the base and did not find him. Tooele County search and rescue crews have been crisscrossing the desert with GPS devices, ATVs and cadaver dogs as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, said Wade Mathews, Tooele County Emergency Management spokesman.
"[Sheriff Frank Park] said it's nine days into the search, and they've thoroughly searched the area — including the area where the hat was found," Mathews said. He noted that the search and rescue team is a volunteer crew whose members have been clocked out of their regular jobs since Bushling went missing.