SUBLETTE COUNTY — A search for the missing UTA worker, Kay Porter Ricks, 63, in the Half Moon Lake and Fremont Lake area was scaled back this morning after the majority of accessible areas were checked by yesterday afternoon.
Ricks was last seen in the Salt Lake City area around the same time that Dereck James “DJ” Harrison, 22, and his father, Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, were also known to be in the area after fleeing Centerville, UT following the kidnapping and assault of a woman and her four daughters. The Harrison’s whereabouts were unknown after Thursday until Flint showed up at the Sublette County Detention Center to turn himself at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Flint began working with authorities to locate his son, whom he said he had left at a campsite around Half Moon Lake, though he would not explain how the two made their way to the Pinedale area after abandoning their vehicle near Farmington, UT.
“We had much of the accessible areas covered by Monday afternoon,” Undersheriff Colonel Mark Farrell said, “so we sent a small number of our volunteers back into the Fremont Lake and Half Moon Lake area to check a few more spots.”
Neither the Centerville Police Department nor the Utah Transit Authority have evidence at this time that link the two cases together, but both cases are still under investigation.
“We don’t want to rule anything out,” Colonel Farrell said.
“If there is a chance that these two cases are related, we want to do our part to assist in searching areas that we knew the Harrisons had been prior to their arrests.” – Colonel Mark Farrell
Weather permitting, a sonar-equipped search and rescue boat is planning on being deployed around a few of the boat access points on Half Moon Lake on Wednesday.
On Saturday night, about two hours after the search for Dereck was suspended, he was located by Bridger-Teton law enforcement officers, walking down the road approximately 1.5 miles away from the roadblock. He was taken into custody without incident. The weapons that were reportedly in his possession were not located, and law enforcement is asking that if anyone comes across them to notify authorities immediately. The weapons in question are two knives, a .22 rifle and a .300 rifle.
The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office is asking citizens to be on the lookout for the missing truck, a white Ford pickup with a truck bed mounted equipment rack, UTA markings and a Utah license plate #206886, and to notify either local or Utah authorities immediately.
