Dog belonging to fugitive murder suspect found, could provide clues

By Hector Becerra

May 15, 2013 12 AM PT

Investigators scouring the woodlands of Humboldt County for a man suspected of killing his family say his dog has been found.

Authorities say the tricolored Dachshund, named Gigi, is the latest clue that Shane Franklin Miller, 45, has fled into the rugged wilderness of the Kings Range Conservation area. On May 8, his Dodge truck was found near the town of Petrolia, not long after Miller slowed down to talk to a woman described as his ex-wife.

“We were close to being right on top of him,” said Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Morey. “I would guess he had anywhere from a 10 to 30 minutes max head start on us from where we found his truck. He was not that far ahead of us.”

Detectives found out Monday that a woman had the dog, Morey said.

“The woman told detectives she was on the beach at the end of Lighthouse Road in Petrolia during the late evening hours” on May 8, he said. “Two hikers were walking off the beach and were carrying Gigi. The hikers said they found the dog and were not able to locate the owner.”

The woman offered to take care of the dog, but she did not exchange information with the hikers.

“It would be greatly beneficial to this investigation and the search for Shane Miller if the location Gigi was originally was found at was known,” Morey said.

Because Dachshunds have short legs, he said, Gigi presumably could not have walked far from where she was left. Knowing exactly where the Dachshund was found could hone the parameters of the manhunt, Morey said.

Miller allegedly killed his wife, Sandy, 34; and daughters Shelby, 8, and Shasta, 5, the night of May 7, about 200 miles away in their Shingletown home in Shasta County.

The next day, he apparently slowed down in front of Petrolia’s general store to talk to his ex-wife.

“He told her something along the lines of, ‘It’s going to be OK,’ ” Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Knight said. “She was freaked out when she saw him. She was concerned for her well-being.”

The woman called 911, which led officers to race to the town of about 300 residents as quickly as they could along rutted, steep and potholed roads. It was an hourlong drive, Knight said.

“You can’t go too fast to get there on those roads,” he said, adding that the woman positively identified Miller.

Miller apparently drove off in the direction from which the law enforcement cruisers were coming into town, but then turned around and went the other way. The volunteer Petrolia Fire Department also sprung into action, and about an hour later, authorities found Miller’s abandoned truck behind a closed gate near Mattole Road.

From there, it would have been a short walk into the dense forestlands of the Kings Range Conservation Area, and it was already turning dark.

Searchers are using dogs to try to track Miller’s scent, including cadaver-sniffing dogs in case the suspect took his own life. Morey said law enforcement SWAT teams are presuming the suspect is alive, armed and dangerous in a swath of land Miller knows well, but there is a possibility that he killed himself.

“The area is so remote, he wouldn’t have to walk far and we may never find him,” Morey said. “That area is full of bears. Usually bodies don’t last long before bears find them. Even if he died, there’s no guarantee that 15 years from now someone would stumble on his skeletal remains.”

Deputies responding to the scene of the slayings found weapons and ammunition, but not the weapon or weapons believed to have been used in the crime. All three victims were shot more than once.

“There was a lot of weapons that were in his name and his wife’s name that have not been accounted for,” Shasta County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Kent said. “He’s armed and extremely dangerous with the types of weapons unaccounted for.”

Based on interviews with family and acquaintances of Miller, investigators believe he may have kept weapons in other places, including a cabin he reportedly had in the Petrolia area.

Miller is described as white; 5 feet, 10 inches tall; and weighing about 200 pounds. He has red hair and blue eyes.

He has had previous run-ins with the law. Miller was charged in 2002 in San Francisco, according to the Redding Record Searchlight, with growing and selling marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a machine gun and money-laundering.

The newspaper reported that Miller pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. Kent said Miller was discharged from federal parole within the last year.

Morey said Miller’s dog is in “great shape.” She’s in the care of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department, which is arranging to return Gigi to members of Miller’s family.

Investigators are asking the people who found the dog or who have information about them to call the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department at (530) 245-6025 or the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department at (707) 445-7251.

Morey said dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, will likely remain in the area for several weeks.

“We’re going to have a continued presence,” he said. “From Eureka driving fast, you couldn’t get to this area faster than an hour if you wanted to. We don’t get many calls for service over there. The community is very self-reliant and people choose to live in this area prepared for remote living. They’re a hardy group of people.”

Soberingly for residents and law enforcement officers combing through dense forest, that might also apply to Miller.

“He’s an avid outdoorsman, he knows the Kings Range Conservation Area,” Knight said. “He grew up in the area. He was born and raised in southern Humboldt County.”

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