Human remains found in Kane County believed to be those of missing St. George woman

DUCK CREEK VILLAGE, Kane County — Authorities believe human remains found in southern Utah are those of a St. George woman who was last seen in November 2023.

The Kane County Sheriff's Office said deputies received a tip Monday from an ATV driver who found clothing on a road in the Duck Creek Ridge area.

Detectives and deputies responded to the area with members of Kane County Search and Rescue, including dogs trained to locate human remains. Crews located additional remains and said evidence at the scene led them to believe they were those of 32-year-old Courtney Townsend.

Townsend had not been seen since November 16, 2023 and was reported missing on December 2. The St. George Police Department said Townsend stole his mother's car, which was in the forest south of Duck Creek in Kane County, in November. 19.

Deputies said the car appeared to be stuck on rocks and burned. Search efforts were hampered by snow and ground searches were not possible until earlier this month.

“We had snow on the ground at Cedar Mountain, the conditions were just not ideal for us to go up and try to search the area where we found the car,” said Lt. Alan Alldredge, of the state's office. Kane County Sheriff.

He said crews had to wait out the winter conditions and returned to the area last month.

“A few weeks ago, in May, we organized the search, we went there with a lot of our staff and a lot of search and rescue members,” but even with cadaver dogs, the search didn't 'revealed no sign of Townsend.

Townsend's family and friends conducted their own searches a week later, still nothing.

It wasn't until Memorial Day that the sheriff's office got a break in the case. “We received a call from a person who was riding their ATV in the same area,” Alldredge said.

This biker found clothes, then called the police.

Teams now hope this can help the family gain closure and begin the healing process.

The remains will be turned over to the Utah Medical Examiner's Office for identification, and deputies said their investigation is ongoing.