Nev. firefighter reported missing in Sierra Vista found dead

Jamie Donnelly
The Arizona Daily Star

TUCSON — The body of a Bureau of Land Management firefighter and helicopter manager from Nevada was found on Tuesday after he was reported missing in Sierra Vista.

With the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue, Patrick Gladics, 38, was found dead in the desert area west of a Walmart in Sierra Vista shortly before 12:30 p.m., police said. The case is being referred to the Pima County Medical Examiner's Officer for further investigation.

Gladics was staying at a hotel in Sierra Vista and working out of the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport when he was reported missing on Saturday, May 14 after he failed to report for duty, a Facebook post from the Coronado National Forest said.

On Monday, the vehicle associated with Gladics, a white 2016 Ford Explorer, was found at a Wal-Mart in Sierra Vista, police said. Video surveillance showed Gladics running northbound from the parking lot toward the desert at 5 a.m. on Saturday.

On Monday night, Cochise County search and rescue, along with Sierra Vista police, searched the desert but did not find Gladics. Sierra Vista police returned to search the desert and nearby washes Tuesday morning but found nothing.

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