Authorities detained a suspect after three women were found dead in two separate locations in Utah on Wednesday.
The suspect has been identified as Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa. He was taken into custody early Thursday morning after law enforcement “tracked him to one of the victims’ vehicles,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
“The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah to northern Arizona and finally to Colorado,” authorities said, noting that Colorado authorities located the abandoned vehicle in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After a brief search, Miller was taken into custody “without incident.”
Miller is currently being held on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and was scheduled to make his initial court appearance in Colorado on Friday afternoon.
Authorities believe Miller killed a woman in southern Utah on Wednesday afternoon and 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 his vehicles.
It does not appear Miller had any connection to the victims, said Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said the investigation continues as “members of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Laboratory process two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area.”
“There are no ongoing threats to the public and investigators have no outstanding suspects,” authorities added.
In a news release Thursday, the Utah Department of Public Safety said authorities received a call Wednesday afternoon reporting that two women had been found dead on a hiking trail. During the course of 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 80s. The press release states that the victims’ identities are being withheld while notifications are made to next of kin.
The husbands of the two women found dead on a hiking trail contacted police Wednesday night after finding their wives’ bodies, Roden said. Investigators discovered the first victim after identifying the owner of an abandoned vehicle in a parking lot near the trail.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said it is investigating the case along with local law enforcement agencies and had He said “multiple scenes in and around Torrey are being investigated and processed.”
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office urged local residents in a statement on social media Wednesday night to “take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors closed, stay home or with others tonight if possible.”
“Multiple law enforcement agencies are currently in the area,” the office said.
The Wayne County School District also announced Wednesday night that “out of an abundance of caution and concern for public and student safety” its schools would be closed Thursday and Friday “due to unfolding events in the county.”
“We will also have counselors on hand to support students when we resume sessions next week,” the school district said. “We will communicate updates as things develop.”
