West Jordan, Utah Police Officer Jedediah "J.R." Steadman who was missing for nearly a week was found dead on Sunday, having driven his truck off a cliff in central Utah

A West Jordan police officer who was missing for nearly a week was found dead on Sunday, having driven his truck off a cliff in central Utah, authorities said.

Jedediah "J.R." Steadman, a seven-year veteran of the department recently selected to become detective, left his home on Dec. 30, the morning after having an argument with his wife.

Authorities asked the public last week for help in finding the 34-year-old officer and father of four.

On Sunday morning, a driver in Sevier County noticed tire tracks on the edge of a cliff and notified authorities. Emery and Sevier County search and rescue teams found Steadman's body, along with his personal pickup truck in a ravine west of Emery City. Recovering his body on the remote area was long and difficult, West Jordan Police Sgt. Dan Roberts said.

"It’s a remote road, from what I'm told, and there's a sharp curve, and it looks like his vehicle just... missed the curve," Roberts said. "Now that we have found him, we have even more questions to answer. So we are going to be looking into everything we can to answer how, where, why and what made this happen."

Investigators may never know what caused the crash -- whether it was accidental, or if Steadman took his own life.

"It's hard to tell the family one way or the other, but we will always have warm memories of Officer Steadman," Roberts said. "We found out today that we lost another brother, one of our officers. It’s a difficult time for us."

Steadman's family members are working on funeral arrangements and a possible memorial, Roberts said.

"He was a good man. He was committed to protecting and serving our community and our department," Roberts said. "Everybody that I know of enjoyed working with him. He was a good officer, and he will be missed."

Steadman's family requested privacy while mourning but asked the police department to thank those who recovered his body and all those who volunteered to help.

"It's almost overwhelming, the amount of help and support of people coming forward and insisting on doing something to help find him," Roberts said. "And then the heroic efforts of those search and rescue teams and the sheriff's deputies in that area with a difficult recovery... We're just touched and heart-warmed."

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