Suspect apprehended after three women found dead in rural Utah | Utah
Authorities have apprehended a suspect after three women were found dead in two separate locations in Utah on Wednesday.
The suspect was identified as Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa. He was taken into custody early Thursday morning after law enforcement “spotted him in one of the victims’ vehicles,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
“The vehicle was spotted across southern Utah to northern Arizona and ultimately to Colorado,” authorities said, noting that Colorado law enforcement located the abandoned vehicle in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After a brief search, Miller was taken into custody “without incident.”
Miller is currently in custody on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and was scheduled to make his first appearance in Colorado court Friday afternoon.
Authorities believe Miller killed a woman in southern Utah Wednesday afternoon, then drove his vehicle to a trailhead near Capitol Reef National Park, where he killed two women who were hiking together. He fled in one of their vehicles.
It does not appear Miller had any connection to the victims, said Lt. Cameron Roden, a Utah Highway Patrol spokesman.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said the investigation continued while “members of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab processed two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area.”
“There is no ongoing threat to the public and investigators have no outstanding suspects,” authorities added.
In a news release issued Thursday, the Utah Department of Public Safety said authorities received a call Wednesday afternoon reporting two women had been found dead on a hiking trail. During the investigation, a third woman was found dead at a residence in Wayne County.
Authorities said the first woman was in her 30s, the second in her 60s and the third in her 60s. The press release states that the identities of the victims are being withheld while notifications to next of kin are underway.
The husbands of the two women found dead on a hiking trail contacted police Wednesday evening after finding their wives’ bodies, Roden said. Investigators discovered the first victim after identifying the owner of a vehicle abandoned in a lot near the trail.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said it was investigating the case alongside local law enforcement and had said “multiple scenes are being investigated and processed in Torrey and surrounding areas.”
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office urged local residents in a statement posted Wednesday evening on social media to “take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, stay home or with others tonight if possible.”
“Several law enforcement agencies are currently present in the area,” the office said.
The Wayne County School District also announced Wednesday evening that “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of students and the public,” its schools would be closed Thursday and Friday “due to events unfolding in the county.”
“We will also have counselors on site to support students as we return to school next week,” the school district said. “We will communicate updates as things develop.”
