Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found dead on Monday, September 8th.  Tanner was reportedly on a camping trip in the Palo Verde Mountain area near San Diego, California when he went missing on Friday, September 5th.  According to TMZ.com,

Tanner sent a text message to a friend that he was out of water and needed help.  There was a massive search that ended abruptly (Monday).

Tanner had blogged about his trip to the desert on his Spike TV blog, saying that he was going to the desert because his friends had been talking about “treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration… I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”

He later wrote another message downplaying the danger of his adventure saying,

It seems some (mixed martial art) websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc.  Come on, guys.  It’s really common down in Southern California to go out to the off-road recreation areas in the desert about an hour away from L.A. and San Diego.  So my plan is to go out to the desert, do some camping, ride the motorcycle, and shoot some guns.  Sounds like a lot of fun to me.  A lot of people do it.  This isn’t a version of Into the Wild.  I’m not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife to try to live off the land.  I’m going fully geared up, and I’m planning on having some fun.”

The cause of death is still unknown.  Evan Tanner was 37 years old.