FILE 574 / 22 February 2025 / 74 MIN / express

Murder Selfies

Lucin, UtahListen

The town

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This is Lucin, Utah, LUCIN ... it's a ghost town ... in northwest Utah ... this is in Box Elder County. about 0:03:30

History, in brief

Town note

The town was founded in the late 1800s, about ten miles north of its present site, purely as a water stop where railroads could replenish their steam locomotives.

about 0:04:16

1903

In 1903 the town was moved to its current site to serve as a stop for the Lucin Cutoff.

about 0:04:32

Town note

The population consisted mainly of employees of the Central and Southern Pacific railroads.

about 0:04:43

1936

In 1936 the town was completely abandoned, then resettled by four retired railroad workers and their children, who came back about 1937.

about 0:04:50
All 11 history facts

Town note

The town was founded in the late 1800s, about ten miles north of its present site, purely as a water stop where railroads could replenish their steam locomotives.

about 0:04:16

1903

In 1903 the town was moved to its current site to serve as a stop for the Lucin Cutoff.

about 0:04:32

Town note

The population consisted mainly of employees of the Central and Southern Pacific railroads.

about 0:04:43

1936

In 1936 the town was completely abandoned, then resettled by four retired railroad workers and their children, who came back about 1937.

about 0:04:50

1972

People lived there until 1972, after which no one lived there anymore.

about 0:05:06

1997

In 1997 Ivo Zadarski, an aviation engineer and entrepreneur who invented the Ivo propeller, bought the airport and a large amount of land and moved there.

about 0:05:18

Town note

Zadarski bought 400 acres for $99,000, including the Lucin Airport.

about 0:06:22

Town note

He built a 50-foot steel hangar with no windows and lived in it alone.

about 0:06:46

Town note

The post office would not deliver there, but UPS and FedEx would, and he used to get deliveries from the Schwan's food truck until he cancelled it because he was gaining weight.

about 0:07:38

Town note

A four-inch pipe running from the Pilot Mountain range to the south-west supplies water to a clump of green trees, ponds and the Lucin Pond.

about 0:08:17

1976

The Sun Tunnels, concrete tubes in the desert created by the artist Nancy Holt, were made in 1976.

about 0:10:03

The figures, as told

All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

400 acres with the Lucin Airport

"$99,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:06:22

80 acres of land

"$46,000"

Comparison: "about 500 dollars an acre". No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:48

10 acres of land

"$10,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:09:13

640 acres of land

"$320,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:09:14

The reviews

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The story

Dylan Rounds was nineteen and from Rigby, Idaho. In 2022 he was living alone in a camp trailer outside Lucin, Utah, a railroad ghost town in Box Elder County, on land he had bought with his father and grandfather. He had spent two summers clearing the ground and securing his water rights, and that year his grain was finally coming up.

On the morning of 28 May 2022 Dylan telephoned his grandmother to say he was going to park his seed truck because it had started to rain. He said he would call her back. He never did, and nobody could reach him again. He had last been seen on 26 May, eating at a cafe in Montello, Nevada, just over the border. On 30 May his mother Candice and his stepfather drove out from Ohio and Idaho, stopped in Park Valley where there was cell service and reported him missing to the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office. He also said he had moved the grain truck because Dylan had backed it in too far, and that small tyre tracks led out of the front gate. A detective was called out at 8.30 the next morning.

That first day searchers found a pair of Dylan's Georgia work boots behind the grain shed, thrown into the brush rather than set down side by side. One boot had a dark stain consistent with blood. Dylan's mother said they were his only pair and that from the moment she saw them she knew he was dead. Volunteers logged more than 300 hours and covered over 3,000 miles in the first days, with canines, drones, horses and aircraft, and the parents offered a $20,000 reward.

Police looked hard at Chase Venstra, a local drifter with a long criminal record. A bar owner's daughter said Dylan had confronted him, and that Chase had been out in the desert in a ghillie suit with a rifle, threatening suicide by police. The family put up a $5,000 reward for information on him. He posted on Facebook that he had nothing to do with it and had been cleared by Dylan's mother and the investigator. He had a $75,000 warrant out of Montana for a domestic incident. Interviewed at last, he said his last contact with Dylan was driving him to the Tacoma crossroads, and that on 28 May at six o'clock he was at Little Caesar's Pizza and then bought beer and went home. He also claimed Dylan and Kurt Wadsworth might be in a relationship; nobody else supported it.

In June 2020 he and Dylan's father Justin squared off, both armed, on a lane in Idaho over a pig venture, and were only talked down by their partner Larry.

The case broke on the phones. Dylan's phone went stationary on the property at 11.01 for three hours and thirty-six minutes, then moved from the barn to Lucin Pond at 14.37, arriving at 14.52, with a final timestamp of 14.53.55. His touch DNA was on the boots.

The family set up a nonprofit, Dylan's legacy, to help families searching for missing loved ones.

The case

Murder of Dylan Rounds

Victims

Dylan Rounds (19). farmer from Rigby, Idaho, living alone in a camp trailer on land he farmed in Lucin

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 22 February 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Candice. Dylan's mother, who reported him missing
Justin Rounds. Dylan's father
Larry Rounds. Dylan's grandfather, who bought the land with him
Donald Hatley. neighbour who owned the adjacent property and helped search
Chase Venstra. local drifter investigated early in the disappearance and publicly cleared
Kurt Wadsworth. Montello bar owner's son, subject of rumours about Dylan
Troy Wadsworth. Montello local seen with scratches on his forearm
Barbara Wadsworth. ran bars in Montello with her family
Scott Wadsworth. Montello local, one of the family running the bars
Kevin Bibbins. Lucin resident who said had assaulted him
Joe Glasscock. Wine Cup Ranch manager who saw Chase Venstra on the highway
Larry. Idaho man who kept the pigs in the 2020 deal
Ed Harshberger. pig-deal partner whom Justin Rounds mistook for
Robert Avias. named by as having been involved with Chase Venstra

The timeline

  1. June 20th, 2020 and Dylan's father Justin confront each other, both armed, on a lane in Idaho over the pig venture. (the lane in Idaho)about 0:25:35
  2. May 26th, 2022 Dylan is last seen eating at a cafe in Montello, Nevada, before driving back to Utah. (Montello cafe)about 0:28:47
  3. May 28th, 2022, morning Dylan telephones his grandmother, says he is parking his seed truck because it has started raining and promises to call back. (Grain shed)about 0:12:52
  4. May 28th, 2022, about 11:01 a.m. Dylan's phone goes stationary on the property for three hours and 36 minutes. (Dylan Rounds's farm)about 1:01:22
  5. May 28th, 2022, 1 to 2 p.m. says he left the farm to eat ribs and watch Yellowstone at Don Hatley's house.about 0:54:05
  6. May 28th, 2022, 2:37 p.m. Dylan's phone moves from the barn to Lucin Pond, the route calls the backway. (Lucin Pond)about 1:01:37
  7. May 28th, 2022, 2:52 p.m. The phone arrives at the pond; its final timestamp is 14:53:55. (Lucin Pond)about 1:02:01
  8. May 28th, 2022, about 9 p.m. says he came home over the hill and saw Dylan's grain truck backed into the shed. (Grain shed)about 0:55:11
  9. May 29th, 2022 Don Hatley calls to ask whether he has seen Dylan.about 0:55:31
  10. May 30th, 2022 Candice and Dylan's stepfather drive out, stop at Park Valley for cell service and report Dylan missing to the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office. (Park Valley)about 0:29:14
  11. May 30th, 2022 Dylan's only pair of Georgia work boots is found thrown in the brush behind the grain shed. (Boots site)about 0:32:27
  12. May 30th, 2022 Candice and her husband meet at the property; he tells them Dylan needed to learn how to use a gun. (Grain shed)about 0:29:53
  13. May 31st, 2022, 8:30 a.m. A detective is called out to the missing person report; Box Elder County search and rescue is already on scene.about 0:10:43
  14. early June 2022 Volunteer teams log more than 300 hours and cover over 3,000 miles searching; the parents offer a $20,000 reward. (Lucin)about 0:31:25
  15. June 3rd, 2022 Police fail to make contact with Chase Venstra; he posts on Facebook denying any involvement.about 0:44:58
  16. June 7th, 2022 Police interview again; he leaves three black powder guns with Don Hatley to safe keep.about 1:03:15
  17. June 8th, 2022 An anonymous tip claims Dylan and Kurt Wadsworth lived at the Saddle Sore bar and ran around with loaded guns. (Saddle Sore Bar)about 0:48:59
  18. June 11th, 2022 Police serve a search warrant on trailer and find ball ammunition, ignition caps, black powder and speed loads. ('s trailer)about 0:48:35
  19. June 2022 Dylan's phone is recovered from Lucin Pond. (Lucin Pond)about 1:02:26
  20. June 2022 Data from the phone includes video of wiping a revolver in his trailer with a red substance on his left arm. ('s trailer)about 1:06:42
  21. June 20th, 2022 Don Hatley tells police about the guns asked him to keep and about temper.about 1:03:15
  22. June 25th, 2022 Police receive further tips, including one blaming a man known as Lil Eric.about 1:05:34
  23. 2023 leads police to Dylan's skeletonised remains in the desert under a pile of debris; he had been shot, probably with a .22 rifle. (Body site)about 1:10:00

Places and phrases

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Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode