Finding Sara - Technology Trail Through the Nevada Desert Helps Bring Murder Victim Home

Last March, a young woman went missing. Last seen in Lyon County on March 21, Sara Filiatraut seemed to have vanished. However, as is often the case with young independent women, it would be weeks before it became clear that something was terribly wrong. 

On April 15, Robert Filiatraut filed a missing person's report in Michigan, where Sara and her family are from. Filiatraut called the Lyon County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) and reported that he had not heard from his daughter since March 21 – the day she was released from the Lyon County Jail in Yerington after being arrested on minor charges.

Filiatraut told deputies that Sara had not been in contact with family members since her release, nor had she been active on social media, which was unlike her. The LCSO Investigation Division immediately began searching for Sara. Little did anyone know—Sara's life had already been taken.

Detectives quickly learned Sara, pictured below, had been to a friend's house in Fernley on March 22. He informed investigators that during his last interaction with Sara, she used his phone to call a number with a California area code and appeared to be asking for a ride. 

Two days after Sara's father reported her missing, detectives applied for a search warrant for Meta Platforms Inc. to examine Sara's Facebook account and try to ascertain her whereabouts. The results of the warrant were received in May and showed that on March 22, she had planned to meet up with a Facebook user listed under the name "Bob Dicks." A Facebook call was made at 8:15 p.m. from Sara's phone, the last known outgoing communication made from her Facebook account.

According to court documents, detectives examined Bob Dicks' profile and recognized the face in the image. The subject was a man LCSO deputies had arrested nine days prior for sexual assault in an unrelated matter—Robert Matthew Richards.

Video surveillance of Raley's parking lot in Fernley showed Sara getting into Richards' vehicle on March 22 after 8 p.m., which investigators confirmed was consistent with data retrieved from Richards' phone records. This video offered the last known sighting of Sara. 

Detectives continued to follow Sara's digital footprint, which prompted a warrant to search Richards' phone records. Verizon data confirmed active cell phone activity at 8:03 p.m. on March 22, but no further cellular calls or text messages until 10:56 a.m. the following day. March 23, cell phone mapping data indicated Richards traveled to Fallon at 11:19 a.m., then continued east of Fallon at 11:53 and was in the Fallon area until 3:50 p.m. By 4:52 p.m., Richards was traveling west back to Fernley.

Following the trail of technology before them, investigators obtained a search warrant for Ford Motor Company, which yielded further historical tracking information for Richards' work vehicle. The truck's built-in GPS navigation system and the vehicle's embedded cellular device correlated with the location data pulled from Richards' phone, offering more insight into his movements.

Data confirmed that Richards' truck was in Fernley the night of March 22 and the morning of March 23, with the truck traveling to Fernley Fox Peak gas station that morning. Video surveillance later confirmed that Richards pulled up to the gas pumps and entered the store. However, no other person was with Richards or seen sitting in the truck. GPS records showed Richards then traveled east of Fallon and returned to Fernley later that evening.

An additional search warrant granted detectives physical access to Richards' phone. The photo gallery on the phone showed several pictures taken on March 23 of three abandoned military vehicles in a remote desert location. Court documents state, "There were several pictures taken in a row of the military vehicles, to include the photographer walking around, entering the vehicles, and looking into the engine compartments."

LCSO, unrelenting in their search for Sara, contacted the Churchill County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and confirmed the location of the military vehicles in Churchill County. Detectives with LCSO and CCSO traveled to the area identified in the photos. A Google search warrant revealed corresponding mapping data, which helped bring investigators to what they hoped they would not find. 

With the assistance of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office's Forensic Investigation Section (FIS), the team located drag marks on the ground that showed where the truck had stopped and ultimately led to a nearby pit.

Sara's body could have potentially gone unseen and unrecovered; however, investigators and deputies refused to stop searching, and she was finally found. Searchers located the body of a deceased, unclothed female, whom they identified as Sara Filiatraut. Discovered in a remote spot hidden by a dirt bluff, "The body had been placed in a manner that would have been difficult to see from any other angles," noted court documents. 

On May 23, the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death was "strangulation and/or blunt force trauma." The WCRMEO also concluded that Sara was deceased when she was taken to the desert by her killer.

On May 27, detectives were able to reach Robert Richards, whom they now suspected of killing Sara. In a short phone interview, he admitted he was with Sara on the night of March 22. However, Richards told investigators that she had left his trailer when he went to the bathroom that evening. Richards was the last known person to see Sara alive.

Shortly after their conversation with Richards, detectives received a call from his employer, who said he had heard from Richards. Richards told his boss that he was being investigated for murder, that he was not going to work, and that he was "bailing out." 

After months of investigating and searching across three western states, law enforcement officers apprehended Richards in Saratoga Springs, Utah, on July 29. Extradited to Nevada on November 5, Richards is being held in the Lyon County Jail on a no-bail hold for the murder of Sara Filiatraut and could potentially face the death penalty. 

Richards' next scheduled court appearance is December 31 in the Canal Justice Court in Fernley.

Note: The charges against Richards are alleged. All defendants are guaranteed the constitutional right of a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Representative photos only, unrelated to the case, showing a remote desert area east of Fallon. Photos by Leanna Lehman.

For related stories, visit:

Denied Bail in Filiatraut Murder Case, Richards Facing Unrelated Sexual Assault Charges by Leanna Lehman 11/27/24

Court Hearing for Murder Suspect in Filiatraut Case Set for Nov. 19 by Robert Perea 11/21/24

Murder Suspect Extradited from Utah by Robert Perea 9/23/24

Arrest Made in Murder of Woman Who Went Missing from Fernley by Robert Perea 7/31/24

Body found in Churchill County Identified as Missing Lyon County Woman by Robert Perea 5/31/24