Ivan Miller Arrested After Three Women Found Dead Near Torrey, Utah

Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was detained in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, after a multi-state search that began when two women failed to return from a desert hike near Torrey, Utah, authorities said. Wayne County Sheriff’s Office released Miller’s name on social media around 10:30 a.m. local time Thursday, and the Review‑Journal reported he faces three counts of aggravated murder, a charge described there as coming from court documents and prosecutors.

The sequence began Wednesday when the husbands of the two hikers arrived at a trailhead near Torrey and discovered their wives dead and a vehicle missing, the Review‑Journal reported; the husbands called 911 and waved down a ranger. The Utah Department of Public Safety said officers responded to reports that two bodies had been discovered on a hiking trail in Wayne County and that DPS was processing two crime scenes. DPS also said the vehicle had "suspected involvement" in a "suspicious death" in Wayne County.

Investigators tracked a vehicle through southern Utah and into northern Arizona before the car was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs early Thursday, Fox affiliates reported, and local authorities detained a suspect after a brief search in Pagosa Springs. Sevier County Sheriff’s Office posted that it had received confirmation the suspect was captured early Thursday. Authorities had requested public help locating a 2022 white Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF during the search.

According to the Review‑Journal, citing court documents and prosecutors, Miller spent a night in a shed on the property of an elderly neighbor, then killed the third woman inside her home before targeting the two hikers at the trailhead. The Review‑Journal identified the victims as Natalie Graves, 34, and Linda Dewey, 65, described there as aunt and niece, and Margaret Oldroyd, 86. Prosecutors’ court documents, as reported by the Review‑Journal, say Miller parked a Buick at the trailhead, "saw two women get out of a Subaru and killed them before taking the car," and attempted to conceal the hikers' bodies in a dry creek bed; officials and court filings are quoted in that report saying the husbands found their wives "shot and stabbed." Those narrative details are presented as allegations in court documents and have not been proven in court.

The small Torrey community, a town of about 260 people adjacent to Capitol Reef National Park, has been shaken by the killings. Wayne County School District canceled classes for the rest of the week and said counselors will be available when students return. Law enforcement advised residents to "take extra precautions, such as locking doors, remaining at home or with others, and being vigilant about surroundings," and to report suspicious activity to 911.

Investigators continue processing the two crime scenes, and officials have not publicly released coroner findings or a formal charging document confirming counts. Prosecutors must file charging papers and local agencies including Utah DPS, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pagosa Springs arresting agency will be the sources to confirm custody, charges, and forensic determinations as the case moves forward.