Credit: Sevier County Sheriff's Office
On May 16, 2025, the remains of a human foot inside a hiking boot were found in a shoe on the shores of Fishlake, Utah. Investigators were able to determine the hiking boot was only made in 1996 for one year.
Sevier County Sheriff’s Office (Utah) had a cold case where an individual from Washington, Utah had gone missing in September 1997. That individual was David White. White intended to go fishing with friends and had rented a nearby hotel room. Those plans fell through so White, an avid fisherman, went fishing solo. His boat was later reportedly found trolling across Fishlake with no one aboard. A shoe and hat were found floating in the water, giving a possible indication where White was believed to have fallen in. There were no witnesses at the time. The original search lasted for 5 days and no further evidence was found. All of this was a mystery—until now.
The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office sent the remains to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office to see what could be discovered. With advice from the medical examiner, DNA from the foot and DNA from a daughter were collected and sent to Bode Cellmark Forensics. Testing came back with a 99.9994% certainty the DNA samples were related, one being the paternal parent of the other.
“This case has been on the mind of every one of the SAR members who were involved in the search 28 years ago. It is good to finally have some closure for the family and the searchers,” said Sheriff Nathan J. Curtis.
“We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, SAR’s, Detective Sgt Pearson, Detective Sgt Larsen, Sheriff Curtis, and Gary (Moulton) from Fishlake Lodge for their incredible support and tireless efforts. We are also deeply grateful to the individual and his dog who found the shoe. Without them, we would not be where we are today,” said Stefanie Bennett, daughter of David White.
The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office wants to thank all those who helped search over the years and recently. Utah DPS dive team, Utah State Parks and Recreation, and all the SAR teams who spent time helping.