WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — Human remains that were located by a hiker in southern Utah over the weekend have been identified as those of Miriam Salgado, who was reported missing in 2021.

Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said they reached their conclusion based on personal belongings that were found at the scene, and her family has been notified.

“Something that you would never think in a million years that that would ever happen to any member of a family,” said Rosemberg Salgado, older brother of Miriam.

Salgado, 46, was reported missing in August 2021 and deputies found her car on a dirt road abandoned in an unincorporated area of Washington County near Zion National Park on Sept. 20.

“The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team searched the surrounding area but were unable to locate Miriam or any signs that she was in the area at that time,” the department said in a press release.

Family members said Salgado had mental health problems and police found her sleeping in her car in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.

Salgado’s remains have been sent to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner for an autopsy. Deputies said their initial investigation did not reveal any suspicious circumstances, but the case remains active and ongoing.

“From what I’m understanding, they found her like half a mile from where her car broke down and that’s what seems suspicious,” Rosemberg said. “In my mind, it’s like, did somebody put her close to her car?”

Salgado is the aunt of Elizabeth Salgado, whose search captured Utah’s attention in April 2015 and again in May 2018, when her remains were found in Hobble Creek Canyon.

Earlier this year, Salgado’s family put out a plea to the public for information, believing a group that gathered just days before her 2015 disappearance may hold answers as to who killed her.

“I told the police department that you need to look into this very deeply and give us the answers, because we need justice, and we need to know what happened to my sister as well as what happened to my niece,” Rosemberg said to KSL TV Monday.

“We just think this is very suspicious that both of my family members, they would find their remains, and if you know anything, please come forward,” Rosemberg added.

Elizabeth Salgado’s family calls for info from church event days before her 2015 murder