Navajo police teams searched the San Juan River Canyon west of Montezuma Creek, Utah, for two suspects following reports of sightings. Navajo Police Chief Leonard Butler stated that teams planned to resume the hunt for Colorado fugitives Alan Pilon and Jason McVean on Friday afternoon.
The search included sweeps of the river bottom between Montezuma Creek and Bluff. Officers reported seeing a campfire and two men moving near the water on Tuesday night using night-vision equipment. However, police lost battery power in their goggles during the sighting, which Butler said prevented officers from seeing clearly.
On Thursday, officers observed two men running for cover approximately 500 to 600 yards away from three officers. While the men's race and clothing could not be determined, they did not appear to be carrying rifles. Investigators found footprints that split and then rejoined in a serpentine pattern along the river bottom.
Butler noted that the fugitives might be attempting to hide their tracks by wrapping their feet or tying leaves and twigs to their legs. He also stated that the suspects were likely tiring from the pursuit and struggling with a lack of food in the river canyon area.
The manhunt was part of a larger law enforcement response after a third murder suspect, Robert Mason, allegedly shot a San Juan County, Utah, sheriff's deputy and himself on June 4. Pilon and McVean have been sought since the May 29 killing of a Cortez police officer.
