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ANETH, San Juan County — Police in southeastern Utah are searching for two men after they reportedly shot at law enforcement officers serving a search warrant at a home in Aneth.
Gary Lee Jr., and Cecil Vigil are the subject of a manhunt that continues on and around the Navajo Reservation in San Juan County and possibly into Cortez, Colorado, according to a Facebook post from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.
The San Juan Record on Friday said officers “were preparing to serve a warrant for the two individuals at the home in Aneth when multiple shots were fired at the officers. No one was hit by the shots. The shooting occurred at approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday.”
It is unclear which police agency was serving the search warrant. The search involved officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety. A helicopter provided by the Department of Public Safety searched for several hours Thursday.
Reports of a shooting in Aneth shut down a COVID-19 mobile testing event at the Montezuma Creek Clinic, which is the headquarters of Utah Navajo Health Systems. Montezuma Creek is about 10 miles from Aneth and both are in San Juan County but on the Navajo Reservation.
Bluff resident Leah Schrenk arrived at the Montezuma Creek clinic around 4 p.m. to find it closed. She’d hurried to the clinic from Blanding after a friend told her there was no line at the free mobile COVID-19 testing site, which planned to reopen Friday morning at the clinic.
“(She) texted me about 3:00 saying the clinic doesn’t have any lines,” she said. “I went straight there. There is a security gate at the new clinic, and the security guard told me they quit testing because there was an active shooter in Aneth.”
About 7:50 p.m., the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office posted a plea for help in finding two men last seen in Aneth.
The post said: “Looking for Gary Lee Jr. and Cecil Vijil. They were last seen in Aneth, Utah. Below is a picture of Gary Lee Jr. and their truck. If located, contact San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Utah at 435-587-2237.”
Jurisdictional issues may complicate the manhunt as Aneth and Montezuma Creek are on the Navajo Reservation, which is also in San Juan County. Crimes committed on the Navajo Nation are investigated by the Navajo Nation Police Department, but if the crimes committed were felonies, it could fall to the FBI.
Both the FBI and sheriff’s office declined to discuss or answer any questions from the Deseret News Thursday night, while the Navajo Nation communications director and public information officer didn’t return calls or emails asking about the incident.
Scores of people near Aneth took to social media Thursday night, voicing concern over the wanted men and the manhunt. Rumors swirled and residents urged each other to stay inside. “Don’t answer the door,” one resident posted.
The warrant may have had something to do with an incident that happened on Sunday at the 7-Eleven store in Mexican Hat, which is about 48 miles from Aneth. In that incident, a clerk refused to sell beer to a customer who did not have proper identification.
The two men then left after making threats to those in the store, and then on Thursday morning, a series of shots were fired at the 7-Eleven building, triggering a search for the suspects.
“Video footage from Mexican Hat was used to trace the vehicle to the home in Aneth,” the San Juan Record story said. “After the shooting in Aneth, officials found a number of shell casings that match the caliber of casings found in Mexican Hat. The search is expected to continue in earnest on Friday morning.”
Contributing: Kyle Dunphey
