By Myrna Trauntvien
Times-News Correspondent
For more than two weeks, a missing Magna woman has been
the subject of an intensive search in Juab County.
Juab County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue team
has conducted an on-going search for the missing woman, but
have had no success, said David Carter, Juab County
Sheriff.
"We began the search with an intensive three-day effort,"
said Carter. "We are still searching daily but we now have
just the deputies of the Sheriff's Office and myself."
"We are still searching for and, at this time, no date
has been set to end the search," said Carter.
Johnnie Mae Miles, 68, has been missing since Thursday,
June 6.
"She left that day to go to the store, and we found her
car later on in Juab County," said Carter.
In the beginning, said Carter, there were 25 members of
the sheriff's office and the Juab County Search and Rescue
team along with 20 other volunteers looking intensively for
the missing woman.
"We have looked for her since her car was found near
Little Sahara Sand Dunes, but we still haven't located her,"
he said. "We have had no leads and have received no
information about her."
"Early on we received the report of a suicide in a
vehicle in Tooele County," said Carter.
He traveled there because the sex of the individual had
not been released. However, the victim was not Miles. It was
a young male, he said.
"There was no connection between Johnnie Mae Miles and
the young man," he said.
Carter said the Miles' car, a gold 1999 Chrysler, was
located during the evening of the same day Miles had been
reported missing by Deputy Cody Laird at Cherry Creek near
Little Sahara Sand Dunes in Juab County's West Desert.
It was a quick identification because the car was found
the day the woman was first reported missing by her
family.
"The car had slid off the road into the stream but there
were no occupants," said Carter. However, Salt Lake County
Sheriff's Department had listed Miles as a missing person
and had identified her car and so the Juab Sheriff's
Department knew who they were looking for.
Miles, an African-American, is described as being 5-foot
8-inches tall and weighing approximately 135 pounds. When
she was last seen, she was wearing a white shirt and
tan-colored pants.
"Since she had been reported as having been lost and
confused on other occasions, we were hoping that someone had
picked her up and taken her to a different location. We
thought she may not know where she is or how to get back
home."
Miles reportedly suffers from senile dementia.
He said searchers were hoping the woman had been picked
up by a driver as she walked in the desert and had been
taken somewhere safe. It was also hoped that the rescuer
would see the news reports and call to tell officers where
they had left her.
"She was last seen about one and one-eighth miles from
the accident scene walking along the road," said Carter. "A
cow-herder reported seeing her about 6:30 a.m."
The accident site, he said, was approximately 15 miles
northeast of Little Sahara Sand Dunes and 20 miles west of
Eureka.
"We have covered eight to ten miles in all directions of
the accident scene," Carter said.
The search had used four-wheel recreation vehicles,
four-wheel drive trucks, searchers on horseback and on
foot.
Anyone who may have information about the woman's
whereabouts should call Juab County Sheriff's Office at
1-435-623-1349. Callers may also notify the Salt Lake County
Sheriff's Office.
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