Hideout resident Patrick Hayes, 61, was shot and killed with a .45-caliber handgun after a late-night confrontation back on Sept. 25.
The apparent homicide occurred at the entrance to the Ross Creek day-use area at Jordanelle. The sheriff’s office has said the late-night shooting followed a suspected road rage incident on Interstate 80.
Now two months after the shooting, Wasatch County Sheriff’s deputies say they may have the murder weapon. According to a press release from the department Tuesday, a gun was recently recovered when deputies served a search warrant. No information about where or when the warrant was served was provided.
No one has been arrested, but in an email to KPCW Wednesday, the sheriff's office confirmed a suspect has been identified and has spoken with investigators.
The news release also provides additional information about the events leading to Hayes’ death, including that he appeared to have approached the second vehicle holding a metal baton and a pocketknife and “aggressively” called the other driver to get out of their vehicle.
“At this time, we are analyzing evidence as to whether Mr. Hayes was attempting to enter the vehicle,” the press release states.
It further notes the investigation is examining the incident for “all possible crimes, including homicide, and considering all defenses, including self-defense.”
In a written statement issued Wednesday, Hayes’ family said they don’t believe actions of his suspected killer were self-defense.
“There are many questions that we have but we will choose to wait until the county attorney chooses the charges that will be sought to ask those,” they wrote. “We believe in our hearts that this was an unjustified homicide, and we hope that the evidence and investigation proves that.”
They further stated they hope the investigation will be completed soon.
“We will never fully recover from this, but we hope that justice will prevail,” the family said.
According to a previously shared timeline of events from the sheriff’s office, an incident occurred between Hayes’ Volkswagen and a Jeep near the Kimball Junction exit on I-80 around 11 p.m.
According to investigators, the driver of the Jeep seems to have followed Hayes to the Ross Creek entrance, where Hayes pulled off the road. There is video footage of Hayes getting out of his car and walking toward the Jeep, which pulled up behind him.
Someone in the Jeep then shot Hayes in the chest and fled. Hayes was found at 11 a.m. the next day; his car still running, the driver’s side door open and blinkers flashing.
Investigators have been looking for a Jeep Gladiator since the discovery. Despite enhancing the video, the license plate number, vehicle color and number of people in the Jeep could not be determined.
The release also states sheriff’s office investigators are working with Wasatch County prosecutors and have submitted evidence to the State Crime Lab for analysis.
