When a red truck went missing from a ranch on Deep Creek Road early this week it was located rather quickly and the alleged thief was found to already be booked in the Uintah County Jail. A complainant reported the missing ranch truck on February 25th and told officers that a vehicle had been abandoned about 100 yards south of where the Ford truck had been stolen from the ranch. A ranch hand reported that they had offered to help a male individual at the now abandoned vehicle, which was found to be registered to George Merrell, on February 24th around sunrise. Upon conducting a records check on Merrell, officers learned that he had been arrested around 9am on a warrant that same morning after arriving at 260 West Main in Vernal in a red truck. The stolen red Ford was found in the parking lot in front of a room that Merrell had been living in and the ranch owner confirmed that it was the stolen truck. A call was made to the Uintah County Jail and a correction’s officer confirmed that a Ford key was located with Merrell’s property at the jail. A quick retrieval of the key and test proved that it was the key to the stolen ranch truck. 49-year-old George William Merrell has been charged with felony Motor Vehicle Theft.
