Suspect in 3 women’s killings arrested after multistate manhunt

A suspect in the killing of three women in Utah was arrested early on March 5, ending a manhunt that spanned multiple states and set the community on edge after residents were urged to stay inside with doors locked.

The women were discovered dead in different locations in Wayne County in the southern part of the state on March 4, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety, ​which said it was investigating along with local law enforcement.

Authorities believe the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Ivan Miller, killed a woman in her 80s in her home in Lyman, Utah, and took her vehicle to a trailhead 10 to 15 miles away in the ⁠Torrey area, where he killed two other women in their 30s and 60s. Miller then took one of the hikers’ vehicles and fled the area, Lt. Cameron Roden of the ‌Utah Highway Patrol said at a news conference.

The women on the trail, believed ​to be friends who had gone on a hike together, were found dead by their husbands after they didn’t return on time; they called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. local time on March 4. Investigators discovered the car belonging to the woman in Lyman nearby, and then discovered her dead as well in her home, Roden said. Roden declined to say how the ⁠women were killed but said the three victims were linked to the same suspect primarily ‌because of the vehicles.

Miller has no known ties ‌to any of the women or to the area and is from Blakesburg, Iowa, Roden said. Investigators are looking into how and when he got to Utah and why he was there.

Miller fled in one of ⁠the hiking victims’ cars through southern Utah, into northern Arizona and ultimately to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where Roden said they found the abandoned vehicle. After a search, he was found and taken into custody without incident, the Utah Department of Public ‌Safety said. Roden said authorities used license plate-tracking ‌technology and cameras to track the vehicle’s movements.

The identities of the victims were not released by law enforcement. The two women killed on the trail are believed to be friends and neither appears to have a connection to the elderly victim found at the ⁠residence, Roden said.

Officials are continuing to investigate and process the crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey areas ​in Wayne County. They will also pursue ⁠a motive, ​Roden said. At this point, it appears the women were not targeted “for any specific reason other than convenience.”

“There are no ongoing threats to the public, and investigators have no outstanding suspects,” the Department of Public Safety said after the suspect was arrested.

The Department of Public Safety and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office previously asked the community in the ⁠town of Torrey and the surrounding areas to remain vigilant while the suspect was at large.

“Due to recent incidents that have occurred in Wayne County today, WCSO is asking that all residents take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, remain home or with others this evening ⁠if possible,” the sheriff’s office said late on March 4.

Authorities in neighboring Garfield County on March 4 also asked residents to lock their doors but said they had no reason to believe the suspect had traveled there, and later said they believe “there is no longer a threat in our area.”

The Wayne County School District shuttered schools “out of an abundance ⁠of caution and concern for student and public safety” ‌on March 5 and 6, and a local health clinic said it was also closing ​its doors on March ‌5.

Roden said in a small community like Wayne County, this level of violence will shake residents for a while. Given ​the violent nature of the crimes in a short time and the theft of the cars, Roden said, “Who knows what that could’ve led to. Hate to try to imagine what that might’ve led to” had Miller not been caught.