Woman dies in southwest Utah after walking for help

Rescuers in Washington County recovered a woman's body hours after she and a man's vehicle got stuck in the snow near Enterprise Reservoir.

The two were driving north on a rough dirt road connecting Gunlock Reservoir and Enterprise Reservoir during the Tuesday night snowfall, said Washington County Sheriff's Detective Nate Abbott. But along the way their vehicle could go no farther, so the two got out and hiked north. Earlier reports that the car had crashed proved to be incorrect.

"At one point the female couldn't go any further, so she tried to take shelter ... while the male continued on north to locate somebody to help," Abbott said. He found a shelter close to Enterprise Reservoir and stayed there until Wednesday morning, when he continued on and found some snowmobilers.

But the woman was dead when emergency responders found her body Wednesday afternoon, lying in the snow three miles north of the vehicle. Rescuers had a difficult time traversing the remote area, and was only accessible by snowmobile, Abbott said.

The medical examiner will perform an autopsy as investigators try to determine how the woman died.

The sheriff's office is waiting to notify the woman's family before disclosing her name. Abbott did know the relationship between the man and woman, or whether they are from Utah.

Abbott recommended anyone who gets trapped as they were to remain in the vehicle, which provides some shelter and is easier for rescuers to find.

mmcfall@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mikeypanda