FILE: Quail Creek Reservoir provides water for much of Washington County. Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News
WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Officials continue to investigate the death of a 77-year-old Washington County man at Quail Creek State Park in southern Utah.
The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation said family members reported Donald Denoon, 77, missing around 7:45 p.m. Monday when he did not make it back home from a solo fishing trip.
Crews from the state park, Washington County Search and Rescue, and Hurricane City police responded to the area to conduct a search.
They found Denoon’s body in the water around 10:30 p.m. While searchers found a life jacket inside his boat, they said he was not wearing one.
State park officials did not say what caused Denoon’s death, but they said conditions at the reservoir Monday included chilly water temperatures and strong, gusty winds.
Denoon’s death is at least the second related to an accident at Quail Creek since the beginning of the year. In January, another fisherman became trapped in his truck on the boat ramp as it became submerged and died at a nearby hospital.