Coroner confirms missing man’s body found at Joshua Tree National Park
UPDATE 3:27 p.m.
The San Bernardino County Coroner's office confirmed the body of Patrick Welz, 38, was found at Joshua Tree National Park.
Welz has been reported missing by his wife on June 10. His pick-up truck was found at a campsite in the Rattlesnake Canyon area of Joshua Tree National Park.
On the morning of June 12, a park ranger found what appeared to be a human arm protruding from under a large boulder, the coroner's office revealed.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Cave Unit responded to the area on June 13, 2021 and recovered the body of Welz’.
The Sheriff's Department Morongo Station is investigating the incident.
Original Report 9:00 a.m.
A search was called off Sunday for a man whose vehicle was seen at Joshua Tree National Park on Thursday.
Patrick Lynn Welz, 38, of Twentynine Palms was missing, last seen June 5 when he reportedly was going to drive to Riverside to visit his father.
The discovery of a body prompted authorities to suspend a search effort. A park spokesperson Jennie Albrinck said Sunday the body was found in a hiking area and had not been identified.
Joshua Tree Park staff found Welz's vehicle at the Indian Cove Parking Lot on June 10.
The Indian Cove Campground is located off of Highway 62, thirteen miles east of Joshua Tree Village and ten miles west of Twentynine Palms.
Park rangers were working on an investigation and organized a search operation.
Welz is described as a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 197 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Welz has two tattoos on his arm, a dragon and a United States Marine Corps insignia. He was last seen wearing a white tee-shirt, blue jeans, and either tennis shoes or black work boots.
Park rangers ask that anyone who may have seen or talked to Welz to call or text the NPS Investigation Tip Line at 760-401-3075.
Rangers request that anyone conducting a private search should cease so that they can assess the areas without contamination of physical clues necessary to this investigation.
Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.
