Police arrest suspect in Fallon murder case

The Churchill County Sheriff's Office arrested Michael Harder on Saturday in the death of a Fallon resident who disappeared in late September.

Harder, 58, a transient, is being charged with murder in the killing of 62-year-old Dennis Heck. Bail is set at

$1 million dollars. Heck's body was found Thursday.

Sheriff's investigators had been looking into Heck's disappearance since Sept. 29. Deputies conducted numerous interviews, searches, followed up leads and traveled to Arizona on two different occasions to piece together the events leading up to Heck's disappearance and the eventual discovery of his body in a desert area southeast of Fallon.

According to Sheriff Rich Ingram on Thursday, Heck was last seen at Fox Peak in Fallon on Sept. 22 at about 9:30 p.m. Heck's black GMC pickup truck was later located in Arizona and was in possession of Michael Harder, who was known to have contact with Heck.

Ingram said Harder had been arrested by Arizona officers on an outstanding warrant for embezzlement. Ingram said CCSO has been following up on numerous leads with the assistance of law enforcement agencies in Nevada and Arizona.