Bonner County murder victim identified as former city clerk of Hope, Idaho

The woman murdered in her home on Trestle Creek Road near Hope, Idaho, has been identified as 78-year-old Shirley Ann Ramey.

Ramey, the former city clerk in Hope, was a longtime resident of the area. Her husband found her dead in their home around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Nathan Lane Utt, 41, in connection with her death. A $500,000 warrant for first-degree murder has been issued for his arrest.

Utt is a transient known to frequent soup kitchen and food banks in the Sandpoint area. He may be wearing a blue jacket or green trench coat and usually carries a backpack. He is 6-feet, 1-inch tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He is hearing impaired and should be considered armed and dangerous, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Internet records show that public information related to the murder has been deleted. The page of the Bonner County 911 web site that listed EMS and fire calls has been deleted, but a cached version of the page lists the call to the 1600 block of Trestle Creek Road on Wednesday.

The call notes indicate dispatch was told to cancel the medic due to a “code black,” which references someone who is deceased.

“Will be moving away from the scene, there are shell casings on scene,” the call notes read. “Will be backing away from the scene with one civilian who is on scene/will be staging in the area.”

All mention of the call has also been removed from the online 911 call logs.

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday or Friday.