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Hidden Valley Lake shooting victim identified; father arrested
This story has been updated with booking details.
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the victim in a fatal Tuesday night Hidden Valley Lake shooting is a young local woman, with her father arrested for having killed her.
Hannah Welch, 20, was found dead by emergency responders who arrived at the scene Tuesday night, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect in the shooting is Welch’s father, 39-year-old Steven Russell Miller.
At 8:15 p.m. Tuesday sheriff’s deputies and medical personnel from Cal Fire responded to an address in the 18000 block of Spyglass Road in Hidden Valley Lake for a report of a call of a man who just shot his daughter, the sheriff’s office said.
Upon arrival, first responders contacted the reporting party who was the grandmother of the victim and mother of the suspect, according to the Wednesday report.
At that time, they also located Welch’s body inside the residence, the sheriff’s office said.
Miller had at that point left the residence, but the sheriff’s office said he was located in the subdivision within minutes by responding deputies and taken into custody without incident.
As a result of the initial investigation, the sheriff’s office said it appears that Welch was killed by a gunshot wound. An autopsy will be conducted as part of the final investigation.
No other victims or suspects have been identified, authorities said.
Miller was transported to the sheriff’s office for questioning by sheriff’s detectives and then transported to the hospital as part of a standard medical clearing procedure prior to booking at the Lake County Jail.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Miller was still in the booking process, the sheriff’s office said.
Later in the day, his booking sheet was posted, which stated he is being held on $1 million bail. He is tentatively scheduled for arraignment in Lake County Superior Court on Friday.
The sheriff’s office said a motive has not been determined.
Anyone who has information concerning this investigation is asked to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Richard Kreutzer at 707-262-4233.