A 22-year-old man killed a woman in her 80s inside her rural Utah home before murdering two other women who were hiking nearby, then stealing one of their cars and leading cops on a manhunt across several states, police say.
Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was taken into custody on Thursday in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, some 370 miles from the scene of the crimes, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. Police said Miller had a handgun and a large knife with him when he was arrested.
Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, told The Independent that was no indication that Miller had any connection with any of the women – and no possible motive for any of the killings has been given.
“It does not appear that these women were specifically targeted other than the convenience of the suspect stealing their vehicles,” Roden said. He added that there’s nothing to suggest the suspect had a prior relationship of any kind with the victims.
Police made the arrest after tracking a vehicle linked to one of the victims from Utah through Arizona and into Colorado. The car was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, which led police to the suspect, KUTV reported.
The day of horror, which has shocked the quiet rural neighborhood in Utah, began when the husbands of the two women who had been hiking found their bodies on a trail near Capitol Reef National Park on Wednesday afternoon and called 911. The two women were friends who had gone hiking, police said. One was in her 30s and the other was in her 60s.
However, Roden suggested the killings may have been random, saying: “We have nothing to suggest they were targeted.”
Later, during the investigation into their deaths, police found the body of the other woman in her home in Lyman, Wayne County. It was not immediately clear what had led investigators to the house. None of the victims have been identified yet and it’s not clear what if any relationship there was between them.
An urgent manhunt was launched, with police appealing for information about a 2022 White Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF.
Police say Miller stole a vehicle from one of the victims located on the trail, and fled the state. The car was tracked through southern Utah and into northern Arizona before it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, according to FOX13.
The suspect was arrested without incident after a brief search of the area and was found to have a concealed handgun and large knife, the Pagosa Springs Police Department said. He is currently being held at the Archuleta County Detention Center on a weapons charge.
Roden said they don’t know how long the suspect may have been in Wayne County, or how he got to the area, but investigators are working to piece together a timeline.
The killings rattled the sparsely populated county, where officials urged residents to remain indoors, lock their doors and keep lights on overnight while the suspect was still being sought. The Wayne County School District canceled classes for the rest of the week “out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety.” Officials said counselors will be available to support students when schools reopen.
Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright told FOX13: “Our community is grieving today following the tragic deaths of three women in Wayne County yesterday. On behalf of the Town of Torrey, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, close‑knit community.”
After the suspect was taken into custody in Colorado on Thursday, officials said there is no longer an ongoing threat to the public and no suspects remain outstanding. The Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab continued processing crime scenes Thursday in the communities of Torrey, Utah and Lyman, Utah.
Wayne County, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, is a gateway for visitors heading to nearby national parks including Capitol Reef National Park.
