Tip sets off search for cabin burglar

CEDAR CITY – A number of Southern Utah law enforcement agencies worked together Saturday after the Iron County Sheriff’s Office received a call at approximately 11 a.m. reporting that burglary suspect Troy James Knapp may have been sighted in Cedar City.

Knapp is suspected of burglarizing dozens of cabins in Iron, Kane and Garfield counties.

“Someone in Cedar City saw a person with a gun slung over his shoulder that matched his description,” said Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower.

As a result of the tip, he said law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s office, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Highway Patrol, Southern Utah University Police, and the Cedar City, St. George and Enoch police departments searched the area near the intersection of 820 South and 300 East. Gower said there was a command post set up in that area, and helicopters were also being used to search for Knapp from the air.

Gower estimated that 30 officers from the different law enforcement agencies assisted in the search Saturday.

As of 8 p.m. Saturday, Gower said the suspect had not been found, but there was a helicopter still searching the area, and officers in the helicopter were using technology designed to detect heat and light sources.

By Cathy Wentz – Email: cwentz@thespectrum.com

Original article from The Spectrum.
Article Link: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120226/NEWS01/202260308

By theSpectrum in In the News on February 26, 2012