Lyon County Sheriff’s Office
Since April 15, 2024 the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the disappearance of 25-year-old Sara Fliliatraut. The investigation led to the discovery of Ms. Filiatraut’s remains in a remote area of Churchill County on May 22, 2024. An autopsy performed by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Ms. Filiatraut’s death as a homicide.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Investigations Division, Major Crimes Unit has been working on this case non-stop since April. Early on in the investigation, Detectives identified 39 year old Saratoga Springs, Utah resident, Robert Matthew Richards as a suspect in Ms. Filiatraut’s murder. Richards, who was working and staying in the Fernley, Nevada area at the time Ms. Filiatraut went missing, left the state of Nevada a short time later.
After the discovery of Ms. Filiatraut’s remains on May 22, 2024, detectives learned that Richards was staying and working in the state of Colorado. Detectives traveled to the state of Colorado and with the assistance of the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant and collected numerous items of physical evidence. Based on evidence collected throughout this investigation, an arrest warrant for Richards, charging him with one count of First Degree Murder, was issued in late July.
On July 29, 2024, detectives traveled to the state of Utah where, with the assistance of local law enforcement, as well as the United States Marshals Service, they took Richards into custody. Richards was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail in Salt lake City, Utah where he will remain until he is extradited to Lyon County to face trial for the murder of Sara Filiatraut.
This investigation spanned across Northern Nevada and into the states of Colorado and Utah. Throughout the course of this investigation, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has received unwavering support and assistance from the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Regional Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit (HEAT), the Elko County Sheriff’s Office, the Nevada State Police, Investigations Division, the Grand County Colorado Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Salt Lake County Utah Sheriff’s Office, and the Saratoga Springs Utah Police Department.
Anyone who has information regarding the above investigation may contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division by email at detective@lyon-county.org or by phone at 775- 463-6600, reference Case Number 24LY01479.
