53-year-old man disappeared in Utah river trying to save a woman, daughter says

A man swept away by the Colorado River near Moab has been found dead, Utah officials say.

Clay Petty, 53, vanished near the Potash Boat Ramp while saving a 63-year-old woman from drowning, his daughter wrote on Facebook.

“Please spread the word to folks but please keep your words positive only as we still don’t have a definitive answer,” wrote Brook Anastasia Day late Monday night. “Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers while we look for my daddy.”

Petty was swept downstream at 3:30 p.m. local time Sunday, July 10, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

His body was found at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, about a mile south of the boat ramp, sheriff’s officials reported.

Sheriff’s officials said he vanished while helping someone across the river.

Moab, population 5,300, is a city in eastern Utah near the Colorado border.

This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 10:37 AM with the headline "53-year-old man disappeared in Utah river trying to save a woman, daughter says."