St. George, Utah • Authorities say a Utah man sought in an alleged sex crime involving a juvenile is dead after his car plunged into a river in a northwestern Arizona gorge.

Bart Graves with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said Monday that Guadalupe Guillermo Nunez intentionally exited the highway and drove off a cliff, rolling violently into the Virgin River on Friday.

Police in Hurricane, Utah have said the chase began earlier that day after a woman reported a sex offense involving an adult male and a juvenile female. Officers broke off the pursuit after the car entered Arizona and it was later spotted in the river.

Nunez’s body was recovered Sunday night in the river along Interstate 15. He was 36 years old and lived in St. George, Utah.