The Piute County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunshots on a dirt road four miles north of Circleville on Sunday night. At approximately 10:12 p.m. they found a 16-year-old female from Piute fatally shot. The perpetrator had fled.
At about 11:03 p.m. the suspect’s vehicle was located traveling east toward Glenwood. Attempts to stop the vehicle resulted in a high-speed chase ending near Salina.
The Richfield Reaper was one of the first to report on the shooting: “The male suspect, 17 years of age,” they wrote, “was taken into custody without incident. Sheriff Gleave began his investigation, secured search warrants, conducted interviews, and the suspect has been charged in the Sixth District Juvenile Court with aggravated murder.”
“Sevier County Sheriff Nate Curtis called out his entire investigative team who assisted us throughout the night,” Gleave said, “and continue to assist us, and in rural America it takes the partnership of agencies to make sure that the person charged receives all of his Constitutional rights and, in the same breath, that we marshal the evidence in order to hold the guilty accountable.”
It’s a Real Blow to Rural Utah
“Our county is devastated,” Gleave continued. “We are a small county, and everyone knows this victim and her family. Murders don’t happen where we live and so, as you can appreciate, everyone (from Piute High School students, faculty and staff to friends and neighbors) is in shock and reeling from this tragedy.”
Any absences were excused from Piute High School on Monday, and counselors were available throughout the day for anyone who needed to talk.
“We are taking every measure we can to make sure students have the support they need,” Superintendent Koby Willis said. “We have pulled several counselors from Sevier County and Central Utah Counseling Services. We canceled all activities that were scheduled for today and we are postponing our homecoming week activities. The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday games will still take place, but without the homecoming components.”
People along the Byway are all thinking and praying for those affected in Piute County.
– The Byway