Riders find body of Wyoming teen missing since November

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Two people on horseback found the body of a central Wyoming teenager who went missing in November.

The riders found the body of 16-year-old Joey Peterson 4 miles (6 kilometers) from his family's home Sunday, according to Natrona County sheriff's officials.

The county coroner confirmed the body was Peterson's.

Peterson walked away from the house east of Casper on Nov. 10. Snow fell on the area soon after.

Peterson had high-functioning autism and officials described him as not self-sufficient. He left without a cell phone or winter clothing.

Scores of volunteers and others searched for Peterson before winter halted the effort, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.

Peterson's death appeared to have been accidental but an investigation would make a final determination, sheriff's Sgt. Taylor Courtney said Monday.

The area had been searched but grass, sagebrush and cactus likely obscured Peterson's body, Courtney said.