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The body of missing 28-year-old hiker Benjamin Kritzer was discovered Tuesday evening by his family, police officials said.

Kritzer's mother, father and brother had been assisting with search efforts in recent days after arriving from North Carolina. At about 5 p.m., the family members came across Kritzer's body in Ferguson Canyon, about 200 yards above the trail and three-quarters of a mile from the trailhead, Unified Police Department Lt. Brian Lohrke said.

The Saratoga Springs resident apparently was climbing the mountainside above the trail when he fell, Lohrke said. Police were not sure how far he fell, or what injuries may have caused his death.

Kritzer had departed from the Ferguson Canyon trailhead, near Cottonwood Heights, on Thursday morning. Police found his car there Saturday morning and immediately launched a search and rescue effort using a helicopter, drone and dozens of volunteers.

Officials suspect that Kritzer's body was covered with snow over the weekend.

The family members had met with police at about 11 a.m. Tuesday morning to begin another day of searching. Hope of finding Kritzer alive diminished after several days of inclement weather.

"It was hard," Lohrke said of the family's discovery. "But when we met with them this morning, they were already coming to the conclusion that this was how it was going to be."

Kritzer had told his family he was leaving for a hike Thursday morning ­— but they weren't sure where he was headed. After discovering his car Saturday, dozens of search and rescue volunteers and UPD canyon patrol officers spent four days scouring the canyon to find him.

Kritzer, who was described as a passionate and experienced day hiker, had moved to Saratoga Springs in late 2015 from Raleigh, N.C.

lramseth@sltrib.com

Twitter: @lramseth