On Sept. 25, Patrick Hayes almost made it home in Hideout after hanging out with his son Christian Hayes in Midvale. Instead, he was left dead in a Jordanelle State Park trailhead area in what officials believe was a road-rage incident that led to a homicide.Two weeks later, on Thursday, Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby reaffirmed the department’s inquiry to the public for help investigating the incident as they seek to find Patrick’s killer.“We are still looking for the vehicle of the suspect and those that are involved in this homicide,” Rigby said, standing next to Patrick’s mourning family and only a short distance away from where he was shot in the chest with a .45-caliber handgun. “We need the public’s help in order to do that, and nobody wants that more than Pat Hayes’ family.”Rigby also was more specific with what he was asking of the public, stating the investigation has made the department more strongly believe the suspect’s car is a Jeep Gladiator and detailing the route Patrick traveled.In searching for people who might have video footage or information about Patrick and or his killer, he said it’s important the community understand Patrick’s route stretched from Christian’s Midvale home, where he left at 10:30 p.m. to I-215 East, through Parleys Canyon and around the Jeremy Ranch area before arriving in Hideout. Rigby said a road rage incident could have occurred at a number of locations between his initial start and destination, and though he avoided speculation about what exactly happened, he said he hoped for the public’s help in learning what happened during a portion of Patrick’s trip when he drove for about a minute and a half notably below the speed limit in the Kimball Junction area.“The 400 yards prior to Kimball Junction, Pat traveled about highway speed,” Rigby said. “When he goes for the 400 yards to the west of the overpass, it takes him a minute and about 33 seconds.”He said there’s no data to show Patrick got off at Kimball Junction or stopped, but rather that he continued on his way after the strange occurrence.“If there’s anyone that has dashcam or vehicle camera recordings of that area, can you please contact us?” Rigby asked. “People might not even be aware that there could be something that’s helpful. A lot of semi trucks and other high-end vehicles, cameras are built in.”Later in his drive, as Patrick drew nearer to his Hideout home, he turned off of S.R. 248 and onto the roughly parallel Shoreline Drive. From there, he usually would have gone left in a fork in the road. Instead, he pulled into a lot near Jordanelle State Park’s Ross Creek Trailhead.In a video from the state park entrance which the Sheriff’s Office has declined to release from concern it could interfere with prosecution and because Patrick’s headlights “wash out a large piece,” Patrick gets out of his car and approaches the Jeep Gladiator.Patrick’s Volkswagen had damage that Rigby said appeared to be tire marks.The Gladiator also has possible front end or tire damage, though Rigby said it could have since been altered or repaired and doesn’t want the public to only look for Gladiators with front-end damage.After avoiding erratic movements from the Gladiator in his direction, Rigby said the video showed Patrick seemingly trying to safely move around.“Some words are exchanged,” Rigby said. “A single gunshot rings out.”Sue Ann Kern, Patrick’s fiancee, said his death has been heavily felt within his family.Sue Ann Kern holds Erin Hayes hand during the press conference near the Jordanelle Reservoir. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park Record“We’re a close family, and this has put a huge hole in our family and our community,” she said. “Patrick was loved by so many people.”Christian recalled the time he spent with his dad on the day he was killed. He said the two went to dinner weekly.“We just spent the night together,” he said. “Hugged him, told him I loved him and that was that.”“He would do anything for Christian,” Kern said. “We had an agreement: If Christian calls, you go.”She described how grieving the death of Patrick is even more difficult, given the horrible situation behind it.“Trying to reconcile both at the same time is, it’s almost impossible,” she said. Asked what he would say to the person who shot his father, Christian didn’t mince words.“You’re an absolute coward,” he said. “All you had to do was turn around. You could have gone home. There’s no reason to take a life over road rage or whatever happened.”If anyone has recordings or other information that could help in the investigation, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office dispatch number is 435-654-1411.The post Patrick Hayes’ family asks for community’s help in apparent road-rage shooting appeared first on Park Record.