Man searching for missing woman is found dead after fall
Jul 20, 2026, 12:58 PM
DeEtte Spencer has been missing since January. A man named Joshua Dovayak fell to his death while searching independently for her. (Photo: Garfield County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo: Garfield County Sheriff's Office)
PRICE, Utah — The search for a woman missing since January turned deadly over the weekend, when a man “lost his life after self-deploying to search independently” for her, according to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office.
Carbon County authorities confirmed to KSL that Joshua Dovayak, 48, fell to his death while searching for DeEtte Spencer, who was last seen Jan. 26, 2026, at the Walmart in Price. Her vehicle turned up later in a remote area of Carbon County, with no sign of Spencer herself.
In a statement, Sheriff Jeff Wood stressed the importance of not trying to carry out a search and rescue operation on your own.
“We want to strongly remind the public that the search zone for DeEtte Spencer encompasses extremely remote and rugged terrain,” Wood wrote. “The Sheriff’s Office wishes to emphasize that this individual was acting on his own and was not part of an official or organized search operation. The entire Sheriff’s Office extends its heartfelt condolences, thoughts, and prayers to his family, loved ones, and all those impacted by this devastating loss.”
The terrain is made more complicated by weather conditions, with both extreme heat and the risk of sudden monsoon rain and potential for flash flooding all a reality.
“Uncoordinated, independent search efforts in these extreme environments pose serious risks to personal safety and create significant hazards for emergency response teams,” Wood wrote.
Dovayak fell in the Cottonwood Dugway area off of Nine Mile Canyon. The road through that section is steep, narrow and unpaved.
Wood said the Cottonwood Dugway area had been thoroughly searched previously, and said his office would alert the public of any new developments.
