Searchers find the body of missing Eagle County deputy in his truck

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday that the body of the missing deputy, Tayler Esslinger, was found in his vehicle.

(AP) – Authorities say they have found a truck belonging to a Colorado sheriff’s deputy and volunteer firefighter who has been missing since Tuesday.

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office says Tayler Esslinger’s truck was found Friday morning in neighboring Garfield County. Esslinger is 26 years old and works as a sheriff’s deputy in Eagle County and a volunteer firefighter in Gypsum.

He was last seen early Tuesday driving a black pickup truck, and authorities believe he was headed into the mountains.

The Vail Daily reports that cell phone location data last showed Esslinger’s phone in a rural part of western Eagle County around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. Searchers have used helicopters and were joined later in the week by dozens of volunteers riding four-wheelers or walking the area.