Body found in Churchill County identified as missing Lyon County woman
Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
A body found May 22 in Churchill County has been identified as a woman missing from Lyon County.
According to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, investigators searching for 25-year old Sara Arlene Filiatraut found the body in a remote area of Churchill County on May 22. The body was positively identified by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
LCSO had been searching for Filiatraut since April 15, after receiving a report of a missing person filed in Michigan for Filiatraut. Her family reported her last known location was in Lyon County on March 21.
The LCSO Investigations Division immediately began investigating the case and made locating Filiatraut their top priority. Over the course of approximately five weeks, detectives followed up on numerous investigative leads while hoping to find Filiatraut alive and well
On May 22, 2024, working on information they gained during the investigation, detectives from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, along with detectives from the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office and members of Churchill County Search and Rescue, began a search in a remote area of Churchill County, where they found the body.
Because the remains were located in Churchill County, the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office began a death investigation. Final autopsy findings are currently pending; however, law enforcement is investigating this case as a homicide.
Both the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and Churchill County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Investigation Section, are investigating this case.
LCSO said in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation, no further information will be released at this time.
Anyone who has information regarding the above investigation may contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division by email at detective@lyon-county.org or by phone at (775) 463-6600, in reference to Case Number 24LY01479.