Body of missing UTA worker found in Wyoming, family says


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PINEDALE, Wyo. — The body of a missing Utah Transit Authority worker was found in Wyoming on Tuesday, a family spokesman confirmed.

Kay Porter Ricks, 63, a UTA maintenance worker, was found dead, but his company pickup truck still hasn't been located, according to family spokesman Richard Massey. Ricks was last seen Thursday driving the truck on 600 South in Salt Lake City, just off I-15.

Centerville police also confirmed over Twitter Ricks was found dead in Wyoming.

As of Tuesday night, there is still no confirmed evidence linking Ricks' disappearance with two men arrested in Wyoming over the weekend following an alleged kidnapping in Centerville.

A day after declining to waive extradition back to Utah, 51-year-old Flint Wayne Harrison, of Pinedale and his son, 22-year-old Centerville man Dereck James "DJ" Harrison, have apparently changed their minds.

Flint Harrison notified authorities Tuesday that after speaking with his attorney, he will now waive extradition, clearing the way for him to be returned to Utah to face charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. DJ Harrison also told a judge he would not fight extradition back to Utah.

The Harrisons are accused of luring a woman to a house in Centerville on May 10 along with her four teenage daughters. Once there, the men allegedly led the women into the basement where police say they had a shotgun, a baseball bat, zip ties and duct tape already ripped into strips in preparation for their arrival. The women were tied up and beaten before breaking free and escaping.

After the Harrisons fled the home, they got a ride from an acquaintance to Salt Lake City, according to police. Somehow, they made their way from there to the Half Moon Lake area near Pinedale. How the father and son got there was still unknown as of Tuesday.

Each was arrested separately Saturday following an intense manhunt by several agencies around the popular camping area. A campsite believed to be used by the Harrisons while they were hiding was found in the Half Moon Lake area.

Authorities had received information that DJ Harrison was able to obtain two rifles, high-capacity magazines and two knives while on the run. He was unarmed, however, when he was arrested. The Sublette County Sheriff's Office in Wyoming organized a search for the missing weapons on Monday.

In addition, investigators were looking at a possible tie between Ricks and the Harrisons' flight to Wyoming.

Massey said a body found in Wyoming has been positively identified as Ricks, but had few other details Tuesday night. He said Ricks' truck was seen on surveillance video in Wyoming, which was part of the reason police there were looking into his possible whereabouts. Massey didn't immediately say where in Wyoming Ricks' body was found, except that it was not in Sublette County.

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Pat Reavy

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