On August 24, at the FBI Digital Forensics Laboratory in Denver, technician Michael Vance extracted data from the device. According to system logs, it had been powered on at 9:00 a.m. August 14 and never turned off during the entire 7 days. Batteries had been replaced around the third day.
The recorded GPS track did not resemble chaotic flight. It showed a smooth, deliberate route skirting obstacles and freshwater sources. Average speed was approximately 2.5 miles per hour—a measured walking pace.
On August 17, the day Tiffany claimed she had been fleeing for 2 days, the device recorded a 14-hour stationary stop near Baronet Peak cliffs, far from official trails.
At 2:12 p.m. on August 16, the altimeter recorded a sudden 260-foot drop in altitude. The device remained at that lower elevation for about 20 minutes, then began a slow ascent lasting more than 40 minutes.
The coordinates were in the Yellowstone River Canyon, an area known to rangers as the “Devil’s Sector,” inaccessible and not near hiking routes.
Investigators concluded the drop was not a descent on foot but a fall. The 20-minute pause suggested someone had gone down, remained there, then climbed back up.
A tactical team deployed to the coordinates on August 25. They found no illegal camp, but a concealed rock niche hidden with broken pine branches. Inside were five empty GU energy gel packets, a half-empty liter bottle of factory water, an isothermal blanket, and a black leather notebook.
The notebook contained dated entries.
August 17: Wait.
August 19: Helicopters are close. Sit quietly. Do not leave before sunset.
August 20: Day five. Put mud on my face and hands. Tear the t-shirt on the shoulder. Look convincing.
August 21: Go to the highway. 6:00 in the morning. Fog. Perfect time for a meeting.
Nail scissors with blue fabric fibers were found. Cuts in Tiffany’s clothing matched the tool.
She was arrested in her hospital room on August 25 for obstruction of justice and perjury. During interrogation on August 26, she changed her story. She claimed Richard had attacked her in a jealous rage near a cliff, and she pushed him in self-defense.
Digital data contradicted this version.
The coordinates of the fall were on a remote ledge in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. GPS and accelerometer data showed no signs of struggle. The device had been stationary for about 5 minutes before the drop. Richard was likely photographing the view.
Altitude data indicated he fell onto a ledge 80 feet below—not to the canyon floor. The GPS then recorded a careful descent by Tiffany, a 20-minute pause, and an ascent.
On September 28, 2016, a specialized climbing team descended to the ledge. Richard Miller’s remains were found wedged between the canyon wall and a boulder. The body was partially covered with stones and branches—an improvised grave.
The occipital bone of his skull was crushed, consistent with a forceful blow from a blunt object. A stone with brown residue was recovered.
In his jacket pocket was his smartphone in a waterproof case. The final video, recorded at 2:12 p.m. August 16—2 minutes before the fatal drop—showed Richard smiling at the canyon edge.
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