Carson man found dead

A body found Saturday morning on Lone Mountain is believed to be that of a man reported missing by his wife Friday.

Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Wheeler said Gregory Morris, 59, was last seen by his wife at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Wheeler said Morris' wife reported him missing after he hadn't returned home at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

About 9 a.m. Saturday, a man was walking over the mountain north of the cemetery at Roop Street and Beverly Drive on his way to work, when he found Morris lying in the brush just east of the top of the hill.

Sgt. Jim Primka said the worker initially thought the man was sleeping, but upon closer inspection, realized Morris was dead. The passerby made his way down to the road and flagged down a passing state trooper.

Detective Craig Lowe said Morris was clad only in a T-shirt, pants and one shoe. Another shoe was found nearby. Also nearby were the remnants of a small fire and a pattern in the sand that would indicate someone had slept there.

Lowe surmised that Morris, who was worried about his finances, may have camped Wednesday and Thursday night on the hill for solitude. The weather was mild those days with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the mid 40s.

Friday night, however, a snow storm moved into the region dropping overnight temperatures to 30 degrees.

"It looks like what happened was (Morris) went to sleep last night on the hill and the cold weather came in. He probably woke up in a state of hypothermia and was trying to get down the hill. He lives right across the way," said Lowe. "But we won't know for sure until the autopsy."