ST. GEORGE — With the help of numerous tips from the public, an overnight pursuit ended in the arrest of a Utah man on Wednesday morning.
Around 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Kane County Sheriff’s Office dispatch received a call about a possible burglary actively occurring in the Bryce Woodlands Subdivision, according to a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office.
A property owner noticed unusual activity at their neighbor’s cabin across the street and went to investigate. When confronted, the perpetrators reportedly fled in a Jeep towing a trailer with an all-terrain vehicle. The reporting party followed the jeep toward Highway 89. At some point on the bumpy dirt road, the trailer with the ATV disconnected from the jeep and ended up in a ditch.
The Jeep continued on, turning onto Highway 89. But Kane County deputies responding from the south and Garfield County deputies responding from the north did not encounter the Jeep.
A Kane County deputy retrieved the trailer and ATV, and while traveling toward Kanab, they encountered the Jeep traveling south on Highway 89. The driver of the Jeep reportedly attempted to flee, and the deputy pursued it. The pursuit continued through Kanab with the Jeep running stop lights and reaching speeds of 90 mph while heading south on Highway 89A toward Arizona.
At around 6:50 a.m., another deputy prepared to deploy spikes near the Arizona border when the Jeep unexpectedly turned down a side road in Kanab. Due to that road being a dead end, spikes were prepared in case the Jeep turned around to return to Highway 89A, the news release states.
Kane County deputies pursued the Jeep and found it abandoned on the edge of Kanab Creek. Deputies then pursued the individual on foot into the Kanab Creek drainage. The Kane County Sheriff’s SWAT team along with Kanab City police officers, Utah Highway Patrol troopers and a Bureau of Land Management ranger joined the search. The Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter was requested and arrived from Cedar City to provide air support.
At about 8:30 a.m., a homeowner on the west side of Kanab Creek alerted an officer that he had seen a man covered in mud and fitting the description of the suspect walk through the area near Hamblin Drive a little after 7 a.m.
Authorities say search efforts were moved to the streets and property in the vicinity of the tip. A little after 9:30 am, Kane County Sheriff’s dispatch received a call from a resident on South Stewart Drive that their car had been stolen. The individual had been alerted by his credit card company that his card had been used at Walmart in Page, Arizona. When he went to get his wallet from his car, he realized the car was gone.
Kane County immediately made calls to the Page Police Department. One of their officers located the car quickly and stopped it. Kyle Lang Turner, 34, of Joseph, was taken into custody without incident. Turner was booked into jail in Page, Arizona.
The case is still under investigation by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office added:
“Kane County is grateful to the many law enforcement partners who assisted with this incident. The great collaboration we share in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona brought about a peaceful resolution.”