This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Southern Utah rescue teams are expected on Monday to resume the search for a former state lawmaker who left for a trail run in St. George on Saturday and didn't return, police say.
Chad Bennion, formerly of Murray, served in the Utah House and was later the chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, was reported missing by his family.
The 52-year-old, who is attending law school in southern California, was visiting family in St. George for the Christmas holidays. His mother, Carol Bennion, told The Salt Lake Tribune that her son left her home about 3 p.m.
"He just went running and he hasn't come home and they can't find his car," a worried Carol Bennion said Sunday evening. "We just can't imagine what happened to him."
According to a news release from St. George police, Bennion was last seen in the area of area of Valley View Drive. He was wearing black running pants and a white T-shirt. He is described as white, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 170 pounds.
Police also are seeking his vehicle — a black 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada with Utah license plate X413GX.
On Sunday, police focused the search for Bennion on trails on the west side of St. George, where Valley View Drive is located, St. George police spokeswoman Lona Trombley said.
But St. George is also working in conjunction with other area police agencies, including Zion National Park, Hurricane, Washington City and Washington County, which conducted an air search via helicopter on Sunday to try and locate Bennion's car, Trombley said.
"Right now we are just looking everywhere, because we don't have any specific place where we believe he went," she said. "When he left, he didn't say which trail."
Family members fear Bennion was injured while running and was unable to find help.
Anyone who may have seen Bennion or his vehicle to contact St. George police at 435-627-4300, Trombley said.
Bennion was once an elite runner who in the 1990s competed in marathons across the country. In 1992, he sought to represent the United States in the marathon at the Barcelona Olympics. He finished 14th at the U.S. trials.
He posted a best of 2 hours 13 minutes and finished second at a marathon in Duluth, Minn.
Bennion represented Murray and parts of central Salt Lake County in the Utah House of Representatives from 1999 through 2005. Then in 2013, he went on to win election as the county's Republican Party chairman.
Later that year, Bennion incited complaints from both Democrats and Republicans. He raised the question of whether Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill was a "cop hater" after Gill deemed the shooting of Danielle Willard by two West Valley City police officers to be unjustified. Bennion suggested Gill's experiences growing up in India could have influenced his decision. Many interpreted the comments as racist. Bennion's then-wife, meanwhile, worked for the Utah chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, which also was a critic of Gill's determination.
Bennion resigned his position in March 2014 after being charged in Murray justice court with six misdemeanor counts of domestic violence over an altercation with that wife, whom he was in the process of divorcing.
He resolved the case by entering a plea in abeyance to one count of disorderly conduct and agreeing to take an anger management course, according to a court docket. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Twitter: @natecarlisle