Search in park ranger’s shooting scaled back

MOAB, Utah -- Authorities are pulling back on the search for a man suspected of shooting a Utah park ranger.

All mobile command centers will be closed, and rangers will run routine patrols in the desert area near Moab for 40-year-old Lance Leeroy Arellano, Grand County Sheriff Jim Nyland said. All roads in the area were reopened.

Ranger Brody Young, 34, was shot at least five times in a Nov. 19 shootout during a routine parking-lot check at the Poison Spider Mesa Trailhead southwest of Moab.

Authorities believe Arellano was shot in the leg during the shootout. He fled and has not been seen since.

Young was in critical but stable condition at a Grand Junction, Colo., hospital. He underwent more surgery Friday.

Hundreds of searchers combed a 15-square-mile area near Dead Horse Point State Park for several days before scaling back the search.

Prosecutors have filed a first-degree felony attempted murder charge against Arellano.

Early last week, authorities said they would stop pursuing Arellano using foot patrols and focus on perimeter security.