Henderson hiker’s body found in Utah

The body of an 18-year-old Henderson hiker who disappeared in the Utah wilderness early last month was recovered Sunday evening, authorities announced Monday.

Andrea Celina Roye's body was found after hikers reported a suspicious odor on a Green Canyon trail, less than a mile from where she was last seen alive Aug. 5, according to a Cache County sheriff's office statement.

The statement said evidence pointed to suicide, but a sheriff's deputy declined to elaborate.

"That's what we're deciding," sheriff's Lt. Matt Bilodeau said. "There's something that was obvious to us that pointed to suicide, but I can't speculate any more than that."

He said he didn't know how long Roye had been dead.

Janice Roye, her mother, said she isn't convinced her daughter killed herself.

Andrea Roye had taken survival gear on the hike, including a flashlight, camera and fire starter, with food and water. She also took her 4-month-old dog and had recently e-mailed friends and family to express interest in buying property in Utah, the mother said.

"I don't think she was thinking of doing something to herself," Janice Roye said. "She could have slipped and fell."

She said the sheriff's office was wrong to make a statement without concrete evidence, and she questioned the motives behind such a quick ruling.

"I don't think they want their tourist attraction noted as a dangerous climbing area where people could be hurt," she said. "So they called it a suicide."

Bilodeau said he spoke with the mother for almost an hour and gave her explicit details about the investigation. With those details, he said, he's not sure how she could reach a different conclusion than suicide.

"I don't know her mind-set," he said.

Neither Janice Roye nor Bilodeau would elaborate on the circumstances of Andrea Roye's death.

The Utah medical examiner's office will officially rule on the cause and manner of death after an autopsy, which could take weeks, Bilodeau said.

Andrea Roye had moved to Utah on her 18th birthday to stay with her boyfriend and his family. On the morning she disappeared, she told her boyfriend she was going on a hike but didn't say how long she'd be gone.

When she didn't return the next morning, her boyfriend reported her missing.

Authorities conducted an extensive search for almost two weeks before calling it off because of a lack of leads.

It wasn't clear where Roye was heading, which made it harder to search for her, Bilodeau said.

At one time, sheriff's officials suspected she might have hitchhiked to Yellowstone National Park because of her affinity for wolves.

Janice Roye and her son, Will Bender, spent days searching for Andrea Roye after the official search ended but found nothing.

On Monday morning, Janice Roye said she was headed back to Utah that afternoon with an experienced wilderness guide.

They planned to investigate the area and come to their own conclusion about what happened, she said.

"I'm not satisfied," she said.

Bilodeau called it a tragic end to an awful situation.

Andrea Roye's dog, a German shepherd-wolf mix, was found alive next to her body, he said.

Sheriff's officials and animal control officers weren't able to rescue the dog, but it didn't appear severely ill.

"The dog saw the searchers and took off running. It stayed 100 yards away at all times," Bilodeau said. "The family is hoping they'll be able to coax it down."

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.