Search suspended for night
Possibly connected to the Harrison case
by Sublette County Sheriff’s Office
May 16, 2016
(Pinedale, Wyoming – May 16, 2016, 7:12PM) A search for the missing Utah Transit Authority maintenance worker, Kay Porter Ricks, and the UTA pick-up truck that he was driving, was suspended for the evening at approximately 6:30pm in Sublette County and will be picked up again in the morning, according to Sublette County Undersheriff, Colonel Mark Farrell.
"At this point, we’re losing daylight and the rain is bringing in some hazardous conditions, making searches of backcountry roads more and more dangerous," Colonel Farrell said. "The safety of our search teams is always a top priority, and we’re hoping the rain will subside in the morning and we can resume searching then.
Following the arrest of Dereck James "DJ" Harrison (22) and his father, Flint Wayne Harrison (51), this weekend, a search began Monday morning for the weapons that had reportedly been in the possession of Dereck prior to his arrest on Saturday night. When information was received from the UTA Police Department surrounding the missing maintenance worker, the search was refocused and officials began searching the area around Fremont Lake and Half Moon Lake for the white Ford pick-up that was last seen being driven away from the Salt Lake City area during the evening on May 12.
According to Centerville Police Department and UTA Police Department, there is no evidence linking the two cases, other than the Harrisons were known to be in the area during the same time that Porter’s vehicle was last seen in Salt Lake City. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office also has no additional evidence linking the two cases, and are trying to assist Utah authorities in ruling out all possibilities.
"We really do not have any reason to believe that the Harrisons had anything to do with Porter’s disappearance, but given the timeframe of their arrival in our area and their refusal to indicate how they got to Sublette County from Utah, we felt we should explore every avenue to help Utah authorities with their search," said Colonel Farrell. "We were able to check a number of areas in and around where Dereck and Flint had set up camp, and will continue to search in the morning."
At 2pm this afternoon, an extradition hearing was held in Circuit Court in Pinedale, and both men requested to see an attorney before deciding whether to waive the extradition process. Their bonds were each set at $750,000 cash only.
Maryann Delrymple Harrison (45), Dereck’s mother and Flint’s ex-wife, was also seen after being arrested for violating the terms of her parole when she left the state of Utah and arrived in Pinedale during the search on Saturday for her son. She waived the extradition process and will be returned to Utah within 10 days.
Citizens are asked to be on the lookout for the missing UTA vehicle and employee and to notify law enforcement with any information.
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