SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was to begin a jail sentence Wednesday for the death of his young son committed suicide in the same mountains where the boy disappeared, police said.

Paul Wayment’s body was discovered Wednesday afternoon on a ridge near a small pond, said Summit County Sheriff’s Detective Robert Berry.

A medical examiner was on the way, but Berry said preliminary reports indicate he shot himself in the head with his hunting rifle.

Wayment, 38, was sentenced Tuesday to serve 30 days in jail for the death of his 28-month-old son, Gage.

The order from 3rd District Judge Robert K. Hilder was a surprise, because prosecutors had recommended against jail time as a condition of Wayment’s no contest plea to negligent homicide.

Hilder gave Wayment time to report to jail, but after a brief consultation with his attorney, Wayment pledged to turn himself in to the Summit County Jail at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

He never showed.

Wayment apparently told his family as they left the courtroom that he was “going to drive up into the mountains to be by himself for a little while,” Berry said.

Wayment assured them that he would be back before dark and they shouldn’t worry, Berry said.

But shortly before 10 a.m., Wayment’s attorney, Glen Cook, called the sheriff’s office to see if his client had arrived and say he was concerned.

“He could have done the jail time,” Cook told KUTV. “I think it was the overwhelming burden at that point that tipped the scale.”

At around 11:30 a.m., deputies spotted Wayment’s pickup truck parked on private hunting land in the Chalk Creek area above Coalville, about 35 miles from Salt Lake City, according to detective Robert Berry.

That’s the same spot Wayment left Gage in his truck Oct. 26 as he went scouting for deer.

When he returned after about 45 minutes, the toddler was gone.

The boy’s frozen body was found more than five days later more than a mile from the truck, with scratches on his face and the feet on his pajamas worn through.

Berry said Wayment, who was still dressed in his court clothes but left his tie in the cab of his truck, apparently walked around a small pond and out to a low rise.

“From there he could look out at all the country where the search went on for his son,” Berry said.

A pair of binoculars and his hunting rifle were found at his side.

In court Tuesday, Wayment seemed subdued as he read a short statement before the judge, saying he loved his only child “with all my heart and soul.”

“In one brief and monumental moment while Gage slept in the truck, I made the biggest mistake of my life … If I could change places with my son, I would give up my life in a second,” Wayment said.

Although there was initially suspicion around the boy’s disappearance — including allegations from Wayment’s ex-wife that he was kidnapped in a custody battle — police ruled out any intentional harm on Wayment’s part.

Deputies later testified that Wayment was so upset when the boy disappeared that they were worried for his safety.

Family spokeswoman Valerie Burke, Wayment’s sister, was at the scene and could not be reached.

Late Wednesday, Judge

Hilder issued a statement calling the situation “a judge’s worst nightmare” and recalling his own father’s suicide more than 20 years ago.

“If the jail sentence I imposed was a factor, large or small, in Mr. Wayment’s decision, I regret that result with all my heart, but I cannot change my decision,” the judge wrote.

“For the rest of my career I will remember Paul Wayment and try never to lose sight of the human consequences as I discharge my responsibilities.”

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.