Joshua Williams, reported missing, likely dead body found at Coons Bluff
A body was found in the Salt River, near Coons Bluff, Wednesday morning that is possibly the body of Joshua Williams, deputies said.
MSCO found the body washed up on the shoreline around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The identity of the body has not been confirmed yet. Williams was reported missing on Sunday after he disappeared while floating on the river with a group of friends.
Williams, age 22, went missing after tubing with a dozen or so friends near the Old Sheep Bridge. Reportedly some of the tubes were tied together, but didn’t stay together.
“They came around the bend and he did not come around with them,” said MCSO’s Chris Hegstrom. “They thought maybe he got out, maybe he did some other things..they finally went home..they went back to Chandler where they’re from. Realized he hadn’t made it there and then they called us, so at about 9:00 last night we began searching for him.”
Williams was last seen sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Rescue teams have been searching for Williams by air, on land, and in water since Monday. They continued the search Tuesday when the sun came up, but stopped searching when a weather alert popped up in the afternoon.
According to MCSO, friends told them that Williams was not under the influence of alcohol.