39-year-old case solved in Summit County


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COALVILLE — Summit County sheriff's deputies believe they have solved a nearly 40-year-old homicide.

On Oct. 28, 1976, William Ercanbrack, 47, a well-known rancher in Summit County, was opening the gate to his ranch in Clarks Canyon, 7 miles east of Coalville, when he was shot in the back and killed with a high-powered rifle, according to the Summit County Sheriff's Office. The fatal shot was believed to have been fired from about 300 feet away by someone waiting for Ercanbrack along a fence line.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office, along with the Summit County Attorney's Office, announced Tuesday that there would now be enough evidence to charge George B. Toone, of San Bernardino, California, with the crime, if he were still alive.

Toone died of natural causes on Sept. 11, 2001, at age 75.

Although the case remained active for many years after the shooting, no strong leads were ever developed, said Summit County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Bridge. The case was reopened recently, and earlier this year Bridge said investigators got the break they needed.

The sheriff office's cold case team found what they're calling "a reliable source," who, along with evidence collected from the crime scene in 1976, "was able to confirm information related to the evidence collected" and "could talk about events that transpired after the murder," Bridge said.


We may now be able to find some source of closure in this matter and can move forward knowing that there are certain law enforcement professionals out there that really do care about carrying out their duties to protect and to serve.

–Statement by Blaine and Bill Ercanbrack.


As part of the deal with this source to get information, Bridge said the informant was granted "complete and total anonymity. He declined to answer questions Tuesday about how the source was found or the possible connection to Toone.

Investigators believe the motive for the murder was a "land dispute," though Bridge said the exact details may never be known since the key players are dead.

Ercanbrack's family released a prepared statement Tuesday, thanking the sheriff's office.

"We may now be able to find some source of closure in this matter and can move forward knowing that there are certain law enforcement professionals out there that really do care about carrying out their duties to protect and to serve," Blaine and Bill Ercanbrack said in the statement, along with Kay VanWagoner and Shauna Bigler.

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