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- U.S. Marshals arrested fugitive Chase Venstra in Davis County for firearm offenses.
- He was apprehended after his brother received a tip on his location and is now in custody.
- Venstra was once linked to the 2022 disappearance of Dylan Rounds and had multiple warrants.
FARMINGTON — U.S. Marshals have apprehended a fugitive in Davis County who was wanted in several states for firearm offenses.
Law enforcement agencies carried out two searches for Chase Venstra — who was once tied to the 2022 disappearance of Dylan Rounds — in the past month because family members believed him to be hiding out in the area. Venstra was seen on security camera footage outside his mother's West Point home last week, prompting an unsuccessful search.
His brother, Challis Venstra, told KSL.com Tuesday he "heard through the grapevine" that Chase Venstra may be hiding at an abandoned house in Hooper. He texted the information to the U.S. Marshals and was later told Chase Venstra had been apprehended.
Mark Thomson, the supervisor of the U.S. Marshals' Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team in Salt Lake City, said his office received a tip Monday that Chase Venstra was possibly in an abandoned home near 5100 South and 5100 West in Hooper. The team set up surveillance in the area for several hours before Chase Venstra was spotted on foot near the home about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"We attempted to arrest him and he fled on foot," Thomson said. "He was eventually taken into custody shortly afterward at 4877 S. 5100 West (in Hooper)."
Thomson said Chase Venstra was apprehended alone, and officials believe he has been moving from place to place in recent weeks. Thomson declined to say whether Venstra was armed at the time of his arrest but said charges would be screened "for drugs and weapons," in addition to an outstanding federal warrant.
Chase Venstra, 43, was booked into the Davis County Jail shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Chase Venstra was one of two people charged with firearm offenses after Rounds' disappearance, along with James Brenner. Brenner later pleaded guilty to murdering the 19-year-old, whose remains were found in Box Elder County in April.
The Elko County Sheriff's Office in Nevada announced in September that it was looking for Chase Venstra. He has five felony warrants: three from Nevada, one from Montana and one from the U.S. Marshals Service, according to Elko deputies.
