The couple’s missing dog was also found dead on Wednesday, days after the bodies of a man and woman were found in a car in a creek at Bear Flat campground.
According to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, the bodies of Payson’s Dara Sutton, 72, and Von Sutton, 85, were found 100 yards below Bear Flat Crossing by search and rescue teams on March 23. Their dog, Harriet, was found dead less than a week after volunteers found her remains.
According to the sheriff’s office, at 7:42 a.m. on March 22, a vehicle was called 911 at the intersection of Tonto Creek and a search and rescue operation was underway. Residence, according to the Sheriff’s Office. At one point, the sheriff’s office described the couple’s car as a truck. An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter was used in the search, county officials said.
A statement from the sheriff’s office said: “Rescue operations in this area are complicated and extremely dangerous due to weather conditions and flooding.
The couple’s cause of death was unknown. A sheriff’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Sutton’s dog was found dead by volunteers from the Human Animal Rescue and Capture Team on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said. supported by the agency, it added.
“Unfortunately, the Gila County Sheriff’s Department has limited resources when conducting animal searches and relies on the assistance of volunteer groups and community members,” read the agency’s statement.
The couple were remembered in an obituary released Monday as eight “beloved” parents, 14 grandparents and “great neighbors and trusted friends”. was a doctor and war hero, Dara Sutton did philanthropic work for the Child Crisis Center and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“They passed away like they’ve lived for years. Together and in the place they loved most, Bear Flat, Arizona,” read the obituary. But I know they were very kind, generous, caring people and I will miss them.”
