A suspect is in custody after 3 women were found dead in Wayne County, Utah, authorities said Thursday morning. Multiple law enforcement agencies and the Salt Lake City FBI had launched a manhunt in several counties across the state.
The suspect has been identified as Ivan Miller, a 22-year-old from Blakesburg, Iowa.
On Wednesday afternoon, authorities received a call from the husbands of 2 women who had found them dead on a hiking trail. A third victim was later located at a residence in Wayne County, the Utah Department of Safety said Thursday.
Authorities have not identified the victims but said that the women were in their 30s, 60s, and 80s.
Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesperson for the Utah Highway Patrol, said investigators believe Miller killed the elderly woman in her home before taking her car to the trailhead where he killed the other two women. He then abandoned the first car and fled the scene in another victim's car.
Law enforcement tracked Miller through southern Utah into northern Arizona and eventually into Colorado, the Utah Department of Safety said.
Colorado law enforcement located the vehicle abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After a brief search, police said they found Miller with a concealed handgun and large knife and he was arrested for possession of concealed weapons.
Miller was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Archuleta County detention center in Colorado where he is being held, according to the Pagosa Springs Police Department.
Miller is not believed to have had any prior relationship with the victims, Roden said.
In a statement issued late Wednesday night, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office asked residents to “take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, remain home or with others this evening if possible.”
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker told NBC News that the Salt Lake City FBI was assisting in the case. Sheriffs departments in several surrounding counties, including Emery County, San Juan County, and Grand County — home of the popular hiking destination Moab Valley — also issued alerts on social media.
The Wayne County School District announced that schools will be closed Thursday and Friday “out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety.”
A local health clinic also closed its doors for the day, and NBC affiliate KSL reported that the Wayne County Courthouse in Loa was shuttered “due to the current situation in Wayne County.”
“The investigations continue into Thursday morning as members of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab process two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said. “There are no ongoing threats to the public, and investigators have no outstanding suspects.”
Wayne County, home to just over 2,500 residents, is located 120 miles west of Moab Valley. The area is popular for hikers because of its proximity to Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
