Missing BLM Firefighter Found Dead In Sierra Vista: Police

SIERRA VISTA, AZ — The body of the Bureau of Land Management Firefighter and Helicopter Manager who had been missing since last weekend was found Tuesday, according to Sierra Vista police.

Patrick Gladics, 38, was found dead around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the desert area west of Walmart in Sierra Vista, according to police. The Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helped to locate his body.

Gladics, who was from Nevada, was reported missing Saturday when he didn't show up for a shift out of the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, the Coronado National Forest said in a Facebook post. Gladics had been staying in a hotel in Sierra Vista.

Gladics' Bureau of Land Management vehicle was found at the Walmart in Sierra Vista on Monday, police said. Surveillance video showed Gladics headed north away from the Walmart on foot toward the open desert around 5 a.m. on Saturday.

Police are referring the case to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation, Sierra Vista Police said in a news release.