A horse that slipped its tether a week ago and ambled away from a backcountry campsite in Wind Cave National Park turned up walking along a road in the park.

A bid by Utah officials to see the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments shrunk should be dismissed because they have not demonstrated a cause of action for the court to consider nor has the federal government waived its sovereign immunity to allow a lawsuit against it, according to a motion filed by the federal government.

Searches were underway Monday in three national parks, two focused on missing hikers and one on missing climbers.

It was a well-trekked sandy trail leading us into the thick brush. A gentle breeze rustled the shrubs and straggling mesquite and ironwood trees. In an instant on the short track, we seemed to leave the Sonoran Desert behind and move into a stunted but lush preserve.