MYSTERY SOLVED: Foot found near Fish Lake belonged to man missing for 28 years

SEVIER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A human foot found along the shore of Fish Lake in Sevier County has been confirmed as belonging to a man who went missing in September 1997.

According to a press release from the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, David White, from Washington, Utah, went missing in September 1997. He had plans to go fishing with friends and rented a hotel room near Fish Lake. The plans fell through, and White ended up going fishing alone.

White’s boat was found on Fish Lake, but nobody was aboard. A shoe and a hat were the only things found of White, and indicated that he had fallen into the water. There were no witnesses at the time, and a five-day search turned up no leads. White’s disappearance remained unsolved for 28 years.

On May 16, 2025, a man and his dog were walking along the shore of Fish Lake when the dog brought a shoe to its owner. The owner noticed that there “appeared to be a bone in the shoe” and contacted authorities.

Detectives responded and conducted a search the following morning, but did not locate any additional evidence. The Utah Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the shoe contained a foot, and began working on identifying the remains. The boot was identified as a brand only made in 1996 for one year, helping detectives pinpoint when the foot may have been from.

To find out whether the foot belonged to White, the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office collected DNA from the foot and submitted it alongside DNA collected from White’s daughter to Bode Cellmark Forensics. The press release says the DNA returned as a 99.9994% certainty that there was a paternal parent-child relation.

“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,” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan J. Curtis is quoted in the press release.

The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office extended thanks to those who worked to search for White over the past 28 years, as well as the Utah Department of Public Safety Dive Team, Utah State Parks and Recreation, and all of the search and rescue teams who participated.

“We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, SARs, 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.” Stefanie Bennett, White’s daughter, is quoted in the press release.

Trevor Myers contributed to this report.