By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today `
Three people were arrested after deputies say masked suspects cut through a locked gate, entered multiple mountain properties and burglarized a cabin before fleeing the area.
Andrew Phillip Rauskin, 33, Evan Robert Newmiller, 34, and Rachel Rochell Cotton, 43, were taken into custody following the March 21 incident in the Whiskey Hollow Road area east of Cedar City.
Deputies with the Iron County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched after two separate reports. One property owner reported ATV tracks beyond a cut gate, while a cabin owner said their alarm system began alerting to movement inside before the cameras went offline.
When deputies arrived, they encountered Rauskin on a four-wheeler leaving the area. According to charging documents, he was detained while two other suspects fled the scene in a vehicle.
Authorities later identified those individuals as Newmiller and Cotton, who were located after deputies, along with the Utah Highway Patrol and Division of Natural Resources, set up a perimeter and began searching the area.
Investigators say both later admitted to breaking into the cabin and stealing items, which were found at Newmiller’s residence.
Deputies later recovered items believed to have been taken from the property, including a television, generator and other belongings, the affidavit states.
During the investigation, deputies reported finding burglary tools, a firearm and illegal drugs, including methamphetamine and fentanyl, inside the vehicle and cabin associated with the suspects.
The group allegedly cut a gate chain to gain access to the area and traveled across multiple properties marked “no trespassing.”
The case remains under investigation.