Cell phone helps Utah County deputies track down stolen truck

UTAH COUNTY—Nevada Hunter had hunted deer, elk, mountain lions and bears, but he’d never been in a situation where he had to hunt down a stolen truck.

That was until Monday afternoon, when his uncle’s Ford F-150 vanished in an instant outside his home in Spanish Fork.

“I could hear yelling outside, so I come out to see what was going on, and (my uncle) said, ‘They stole my truck, call 911!’” Hunter said.

The two quickly hopped into Hunter’s truck, and pursued the stolen ride to 800 N. Main Street.

“Right there by the Arctic Circle, I kind of tried to block them in, and (my uncle) jumped out and they actually went around and almost ran over him,” Hunter said.

Hunter and his uncle said they continued to follow their stolen truck on I-15, but ultimately lost track of it.

“They were doing over 115, 120 miles an hour,” Hunter said. “They were leaving me in the dust.”

The men, however, were already in contact with 911 dispatch and relayed that the uncle’s Jitterbug flip phone, which was still in the truck, could potentially be tracked.

“It’s a phone for, like, elderly people, so if they fall, they have like (a button) they can push,” Hunter explained. “I guess, they could read the GPS off it.”

Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said deputies ‘pinged’ the phone a couple times, and the second time it traced to an area in north Orem.

Cannon said deputies were headed to that general area, when one deputy happened to spot the truck entering northbound I-15.

Deputy Ray Edwards said deputies followed the truck to the Lehi area, where they made a stop just off of I-15 and arrested the man and woman inside the vehicle.

Kody Michael Holland, 29, of Elko, Nev., was booked on suspicion of DUI, possession of a stolen vehicle, theft of mislaid property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Kaylie Mae Johnson, 25, of Payson, was booked on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, theft of mislaid property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

To Hunter, the hunt to find his uncle’s truck was one he’d never forget.

“It was pretty fast—I’m surprised,” Hunter said. “We got it back in one piece and not damaged.”