Utah hunter finds skeletal remains of man missing since 2019 in remote mountains

A man hunting for shed deer antlers in a remote mountainous area in Utah stumbled upon the human skeletal remains of a man who went missing in 2019, authorities said Friday.

The shed hunter was in the Hansel Mountains southeast of Snowville on April 27 when he alerted deputies to the skeletal remains, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office said.

Box Elder County deputies and a search and rescue crew responded to the area and recovered the skeletal remains. The remains were turned over to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, which used dental records to identify them as Matthew Broncho.

No details about Broncho’s cause of death were immediately available.

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"We extend our condolences to the family of Matthew Broncho," the sheriff’s office said. "Although this is difficult news to receive and there are still unanswered questions, we hope they can find some comfort in knowing that he has been found."

Broncho, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was 35 years old when he was reported missing on March 24, 2019. It was also reported that Broncho’s dog was missing.

The Fort Hall Police Department had notified the sheriff’s office at the time that a pickup truck belonging to Broncho had been found on I-84 exit 7 in Snowville. Broncho’s wallet and phone were found inside the truck.

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The sheriff’s office launched a search and found Broncho’s dog wandering a few miles west of Snowville on March 27, 2019.

Despite multiple agencies and volunteers joining the initial search effort, Broncho was not found at the time. A joint investigation between the sheriff's office and the Fort Hall Police Department had been ongoing since Broncho’s disappearance.

The sheriff's office said that the investigation remains active, and that no further information was available for release at this time.