Former fifth-season The Bachelorette bachelor Julien Hug has been found dead in a remote area off a California highway.
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Hug's body was discovered on Wednesday by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department about 45 miles off Highway 74 in Riverside County, a family spokesperson has confirmed to ABC's KGTV-TV San Diego, CA affiliate. A vehicle similar to his was found nearby.
Hug, a 35-year-old restaurateur from San Diego, was one of the 30 bachelors who competed for the heart of The Bachelorette star Jillian Harris on the show's 2009 edition.
He survived the season's initial cocktail party in which Harris narrowed the field to 20 suitors, but was subsequently eliminated at the season's second Rose Ceremony.
San Diego and Riverside county authorities had conducted a search for Hug near Joshua Tree National Park after he went missing on Monday, according to KGTV-TV.
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According to his father, Bertrand Hug, Julien was driving to the family's new restaurant in Palm Desert, CA on Monday when his phone went dead as he was driving on Highway 74.
No one had heard from him since, Bertrand Hug told KGTV-TV.
The cause for Hug's death reportedly remains unknown, but authorities said they should know by Friday.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski