An Iowa man has been arrested in Colorado for his alleged role in the murders of three women in Utah, Luxury Handbag Shopping has learned.
Ivan Miller is in the custody of the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office on a surprisingly low $1,500 bond, according to online records.
Miller, 22, was arrested early on Thursday, March 5, after investigators tracked him from Utah through northern Arizona and into Colorado. Miller, police said, had been driving one of the victim’s cars.
Soon after cops found the vehicle ditched in a Pagosa Springs park, a brief search of the surrounding area ensued with drones and K-9 units, and officers and the dogs located Miller within minutes.
He was allegedly in possession of a knife and a gun, according to a police statement.
According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Wednesday, March 4, about two dead women who’d been found on a hiking trail in Wayne County, Utah.
Utah DPS said that soon after police started investigating the double killings, they learned that a third woman had been killed nearby in her Lyman, Utah, home.
Miller, who is from Blakesburg in Iowa, apparently chose his victims at random, authorities said, noting he has no known connections to the women.
It was unclear what Miller’s alleged motives may have been, or why he was in Utah to begin with.
The victim’s names have not been released. Police said that one was in her 30s while another was in her 60s. The third was well into her 80s.
The two victims who were killed on the hiking trail were actually found by their husbands, who went searching for them when they failed to return from their regular hike.
Police in Colorado said that they eventually found a white 2022 Subaru Outback and traced it back to the home of the slain elderly woman, who was Miller’s first victim.
The vehicle had been reported missing after the elderly woman’s remains were discovered, cops said. It was located in Pagosa Springs, about 50 miles from the state’s border with New Mexico.
The murders prompted warnings across social media, and the Wayne County School District decided to cancel classes for Thursday and Friday “out of an abundance of caution for student and public safety.”
Miller has been formally charged with possession of concealed weapons. Police spoke to him after the arrest, and he allegedly said things that connected him to the Utah killings.
Investigators have traveled from Utah to question Miller, who will soon face extradition proceedings.
It was unclear if Miller had been asked to enter a plea to the weapons charge but could be asked during a hearing at the Archuleta County courthouse on Friday afternoon. A lawyer for him was not listed online.
Us tried numbers in Iowa associated with Miller but could not find anyone willing to talk.
Police have emphasized this investigation is very much active and added that they would like to speak to anyone who may have any information about Miller or the murders to contact the Pagosa Springs Police Department at (970) 731-2160.
