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A Utah Transit Authority worker whose body was found in Wyoming was slain, police say — and they believe there is a connection between Kay Porter Ricks' death and the two men accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman and her four daughters two days before Ricks disappeared.
The 63-year-old UTA maintenance worker had been missing since late last week, according to UTA police Chief Fred Ross, who confirmed Wednesday that a body found the day before was Ricks'.
Ricks' body was found near a dirt road in the high desert area south of Kemmerer, in Lincoln County, according to Wyoming authorities.
Police are now investigating how Ricks died and where, and whether Flint Wayne Harrison and his son, Dereck James Harrison, had anything to do with it.
"It's pointing in that direction," Centerville Lt. Von Steenblik said Wednesday from Wyoming, where he and four other officers are assisting in the homicide investigation.
The Harrisons were charged with kidnapping last week in 2nd District Court for allegedly tying up and assaulting the five females at a Centerville home on May 10. The women managed to escape and the Harrisons eventually fled to Wyoming — possibly in Ricks' still-missing UTA truck.
The Harrisons were arrested Saturday near Pinedale in Sublette County, which is about 90 miles north of Kemmerer, and will be extradited back to Utah.
Ricks' UTA vehicle was last seen May 12 at about 5:10 p.m. near the Ballpark TRAX station, near 1300 South and 200 West in Salt Lake City, according to Ross. The chief said the truck was in motion, but it's not clear who was driving or whether there were any passengers.
An hour earlier, Ricks — who was working a swing shift — had been in a briefing with co-workers, Ross said.
That same day, investigators said, Flint Harrison and Dereck Harrison had been staying at the Ramada Inn near 2400 South and State Street in South Salt Lake — about 2 miles from the UTA platform where Ricks was last known to be working.
At about 8 p.m. that night, the UTA truck was spotted by surveillance cameras in a Wyoming town near where Ricks' body was found five days later.
Richard Massey, an attorney and friend of the Ricks family, said Wednesday that Ricks was a man who lived a regimented life and was pretty predictable. Because of this, his family knew something was wrong when he didn't return to his American Fork home on Thursday night.
"We hoped that Kay would come home and hug his grandkids and kiss his wife," Massey said.
Massey said Lorie Ricks last saw her husband as he was leaving for work on May 12. Kay Ricks was nearly out the door, as he made sure he had everything he needed: his work vest, his radio, his cooler, his keys.
"He started to walk out the door and turned around," Massey said. "His wife said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'I forgot to give you a kiss goodbye.' That was the last time Lorie saw Kay."
The Rickses were married for 42 years, according to Massey, and have three sons. A Wells Fargo fund, under the name Kay Porter Ricks Memorial Scholarship Fund, has been set up for those wishing to make donations, Massey said. He said the money will be used to assist Ricks' six grandchildren with college.
"Right now, our focus is surrounding the Ricks family with love and support," Massey said, adding that the family has not focused on assigning blame on anyone for Ricks' death.
Ricks' body was to be escorted back to Utah by UTA investigators on Wednesday evening, Ross said. The next step will be an autopsy, which will be done by a Wyoming coroner at the Utah Medical Examiner's Office, according to Ross. Police officials in Utah and Wyoming, including the FBI, will continue to investigate the death.
"There will be no stone unturned," Ross said.
Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson said earlier Wednesday that Ricks' body was found "some distance" off U.S. 189, 16 miles south of Kemmerer on Tuesday evening.
Johnson said his deputy and another officer found the body while following up on the May 12 sighting of the UTA truck in nearby Diamondville.
Johnson declined to detail where, or in what condition Ricks' body had been found. He said there was evidence of efforts to conceal the remains, but declined to describe them.
The UTA truck that Ricks was driving is a white Ford pickup truck bearing Utah plate No. 206886, with a bed-mounted equipment rack and marked with Utah Transit Authority insignia.
Police were searching for the truck near Half Moon and Fremont lakes near Pinedale, where the Harrisons had been camping, the Sublette County Sheriff's Office said, but scaled back the operation for the evening at about 8 p.m. Steenblik said Wednesday that a Utah Public Safety dive team was on the way to Pinedale to help with the water searches.
Anyone who has seen the missing UTA truck is asked to call their local police agency.
Dereck Harrison has refused to answer questions following his arrest late Saturday night. Flint Harrison, who turned himself into police and then helped authorities locate his son, also has clammed up and specifically has refused to discuss how he and his son traveled to Wyoming.
The motive for the Centerville abduction and assaults, Steenblik has said, appears to have been meth-fueled paranoia that the mother had informed police on their drug activities.