Journal Staff Report

The Montezuma County Sheriff Office is investigating the sudden death of a respected physician from Farmington who was found in his car on U.S. Highway 160 Friday evening.

Roddie Johnson, 43, was found by a Ute Mountain Ute policeman in a near-comatose state as he sat in his parked 1999 Buick along the highway near the old Mancos River Trading Post, according to Towaoc Police Chief Dusty Whiting. Spent syringes and a medical bag lay nearby, Whiting said.

Johnson was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital where he died of cardiac arrest a short time later.

The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release that a toxicology test has been sent off to determine the cause of death, and that the investigation into Johnson’s death is continuing.

Johnson had reportedly gone through a recent divorce, Whiting said, although a colleague said that he had not shown any obvious signs of depression. However, a family member had previously reported him missing and possibly suicidal, police investigators said.