Missing Saltsburg hunter found dead in Indiana County

A missing Saltsburg-area man was found dead in Indiana County by state police Friday evening.

Bryan John Bialas, 45, was reported missing by coworkers on Wednesday after he told them Monday that he planned to go hunting with his two dogs and then didn’t show up for work.

State police earlier on Friday found a Jeep Wrangler that belonged to Bialas in a remote, wooded area of Young Township, Indiana County, after being alerted by a resident.

A search and rescue operation found Bialas deceased shortly after.

On Friday morning, troopers met with farmers and searched in the Iselin and Saltsburg areas, according to Trooper Cliff Greenfield. Over the last couple days, members of the Indiana station had been helped by troopers in the aviation patrol unit, Indiana County Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Game Commission and firefighters from Iselin.

Bialas was an avid hunter and outdoorsman and regularly frequented dozens of locations around the Saltsburg area, Greenfield said. He had two bluetick coonhounds.

“We believe he may have went somewhere to train his dogs when he left his residence on Sept. 11,” he said.

Police don’t suspect foul play, and the cause and manner of death will be determined by Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman, Jr.

After learning that Bialas liked to hunt in the Allegheny National Forest area, police there were notified and helped with the search, Greenfield said. That included investigators from Troop C and D, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and U.S. Forest Service.