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A Tooele man who authorities say was on his way to a job interview lost his way and got stuck in the snow before dying from apparent exposure while seeking help on foot.

Tooele County sheriff's Lt. Ron Johnson said a ranch hand found Johnny Doerr's abandoned sedan up a treacherous road in Clive at 12:30 p.m. Monday, four days after the 19-year-old and father to be was reported missing.

Authorities found Doerr's body in the snow 6 to 7 miles from his car Tuesday, Johnson said.

"I always said that I would die before him," Christopher Doerr, Johnny Doerr's father, said in a phone interview Wednesday night. "Now I've got to be the parent to his child, and be him, because he's not there."

Christopher Doerr said his son was well-known and liked in Grantsville, where he spent most of his life before moving to Tooele.

He said his son was on his way to a job interview, hoping to get a higher-paying job to help pay for the baby girl on the way.

Johnny Doerr was slated to interview at 10 a.m. for a job at EnergySolutions, but Johnson said he apparently drove up a road not fit for a two-wheel-drive car after getting lost, and that the teen struggled to get out.

"He actually was putting clothing items that we believe came from his car under the tires," Johnson said. "He found a piece of scrap metal, put it under the tires to try to get it unstuck."

Authorities believe Johnny Doerr began walking either to the highway or to EnergySolutions, and that he would have been close enough at one point to see the company's building if conditions were clear.

The state medical examiner's office is conducting an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

"I'm hurting so bad, I'm even afraid to go to the stores because people just want to grab a hold of me and say sorry," Christopher Doerr said. "He was the kind, loving child that everybody knew."

The family started an online fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses and to help raise Johnny Doerr's daughter.

Twitter: @TaylorWAnderson