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- Suspected drug overdose was the only fatality at Little Sahara Sand Dunes over Easter weekend
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
In spite of the estimated 29,000 people at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes on Easter weekend, the only fatal was a suspected drug overdose.
“The 29,000 from April 5 through the April 12, is the number that came through Little Sahara pay booth,” said Juab County Sheriff Alden Orme.
On Sunday, April 12, the Juab County Sheriff’s Office received a call to the Sand Mountain Camping area of Little Sahara, said Orme.
“The call was a report of a 30-year-old female, Jennifer Mayhew of Herriman, not breathing,” said Orme. “Deputies working in the area responded and found the victim deceased.”
Deputies performed an investigation on the death.
“During the investigation it was found that the victim had used some illegal drugs and consumed a large quantity of alcohol,” he said. “It is suspected the death is a result of a drug overdose.”
The victim was transported to the State Medical Examiners Office for an official cause of death determination.
“The Juab County Sheriff’s Office had a productive Easter weekend at Little Sahara. Several arrests were made ranging from Minor in Possession of Alcohol to Aggravated Assault,” said Orme.
He said that the arrests also included several DUIs and drug arrests.
“There were many calls for medical assistance that included several Flights by Air Med,” he said.
“The West Juab Ambulance treated a total of 49 patients,” said Orme. “Injures were mostly for back, shoulder, arm/hand, head, and burns. I don’t have details on this yet.”
Of those, six were transports to Central Valley Medical Center, four were transports by Air Med, one was a transport by Life Flight. One of those was the one death from a suspected drug overdose.
“There were 29 patients who were treated on scene and released or who refused transport,” said Orme.
Final details for the injured are not yet available, said Orme.
“Overall, the Juab County Sheriff’s Office feels this Easter was a success for law enforcement,” he said.
There were 36 adult persons arrested--four of those were female--seven were arrested for third degree felony, two for Class A Misdemeanor, 13 for Class B Misdemeanor and five for Class C Misdemeanor.The big push by the cooperating agencies is to make the holiday a safe one for visitors and to make the area a place families can enjoy.
“The report is of total arrests, that is total arrests for Juab County from April 9-April 13, they are not just arrests from Little Sahara,” said Orme.
Two offenses were for alcohol, one for assault with a knife, one for assault with another weapon, two for possession of cocaine, two for possession of marijuana, two for possession of other drugs, nine for driving under the influence, one for another agency courtesy hold, four for traffic offenses, 11 for warrants and one for a weapons offense.
According to BLM officials it was estimated that there were approximately 29,000 visitors at Little Sahara from April 5 through 13.
The Little Sahara Recreation Area was expecting between 35,000 to 60,000 sand and ATV fans to visit the area for the Easter weekend. However, Friday was chilly and may have discouraged some sand fans. Rain showers also hit the area on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Little Sahara Recreation Area, one of the most popular Utah destinations for ATV enthusiasts, gets more than 320,000 visitors annually. Almost 10 percent of that traffic comes on Easter weekend alone.
“Our number for last year’s visitation was 35,000,” said Tim Finger, acting Little Sahara Recreation Area manager.
Lisa Reid, public affairs specialist with the BLM Fillmore Field Office said that, in order to ease traffic congestion and speed up access into Little Sahara, the BLM conducted traffic control on Thursday and Friday between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
A flagman directed visitors as they entered to expedite the process of paying.
Unregistered vehicles were ticketed, Reid said.
“We have confiscated several stolen motorcycles and four-wheelers because the registration is checked,” she said.
If a vehicle is not registered, it is quarantined until registration can be verified.
“We find at least one a year that’s been stolen,” said Reid.
“I would like to thank several agencies for all of their assistance in making this a successful year,” Orme said.
Those agencies were: Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Officers, Department of Public Safety, Department of Public Safety SBI Unit, Department of Public Safety Richfield Communication, Utah Highway Patrol, Utah Highway Patrol DUI Squad, Utah Highway Patrol Aero Bureau, Utah County Sheriff’s Office, JCAT Officers, Davis County Sheriff’s Office, Wildlife Resources, Utah State Parks, Motor Vehicle Enforcement, Department of Corrections, Department of Public Safety Homeland Security, Department of Technology Services, Air Med, West Juab Ambulance, Juab County Search and Rescue, and Juab County Sheriff’s Office.
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