3 arrested in connection with missing southern Utah teen found in Enterprise


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IVINS, Washington County — Two men and a woman were arrested in connection with a missing teen who was found safe hiding in a church in Enterprise Thursday morning, police said.

Lydia Probst, 18, of Diamond Valley, Utah, and Diego Wellhoff, 18, of Santa Clara, were each booked into Washington County Jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and harboring a runaway juvenile. Luis Rockwood, 20, of St. George, was booked into jail because of a warrant but will also likely face charges for harboring a runaway juvenile in the coming days, said Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Jaron Studley.

Police began asking for the public’s help in locating with McKenzie Scholzen, 17, on Tuesday. She had last been seen Monday night. Authorities were concerned because Scholzen had left her home without medication that she needed.

Shortly after police began searching for Scholzen, a parent of one of the three arrested contacted police to say their child may be with Scholzen, Studley said. He said the parent had a joint debit card with their child that allowed police a “roadmap” of where the group was.

Studley said the group had made it as far as Eureka, California.

As media attention increased and texts from friends and family members of the group came in, the group decided to return back to Washington County, according to Studley.

Police believed the group would travel back in the same direction they had gone to California and intercepted the vehicle the group used on state Route 18, according to Studley.

He said officers made a traffic stop at Snow Canyon State Park about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, where Wellhoff and Rockwood were arrested. However, police did not find Probst, who owned the vehicle, or Scholzen.

"So they had dropped McKenzie and Lydia off in Enterprise Utah, thinking that, 'Hey, look, there's too much heat on us. We're going to get pulled over. They're going to jack us up. It'd be best if we weren't together.'"

The men informed police that they dropped Probst and Scholzen off at a laundromat in Enterprise prior to the traffic stop. Officers traveled to the town and interviewed various residents who said they had seen Probst and Scholzen. Apparently, Probst had previously lived in Enterprise, so many residents recognized and knew her.

After failing to find a place to stay for the night or rides home, Probst called her family shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday to help pick her up, and her father called police, Studley said. Probst was located and arrested shortly after, but Scholzen was not with her.

A detective who remained in the area searching for the teen found Scholzen hiding at an LDS church in Enterprise at about 5:40 a.m, according to Studley.

“She had dyed her hair; she had hair dye on her hands,” he said. “She was wearing glasses as a disguise to keep people from identifying who she was.”

Studley said Scholzen was taken to the Washington County Youth Crisis Center in St. George to be checked out.

Lydia Probst, 18, of Diamond Valley, Utah (left), and Diego Wellhoff, 18, of Santa Clara, (middle) were each booked into Washington County Jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and harboring a runaway juvenile. Luis Rockwood, 20, of St. George, (right) was booked into jail because of a warrant, according to jail records. (Photo: Washington County Jail)
Lydia Probst, 18, of Diamond Valley, Utah (left), and Diego Wellhoff, 18, of Santa Clara, (middle) were each booked into Washington County Jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and harboring a runaway juvenile. Luis Rockwood, 20, of St. George, (right) was booked into jail because of a warrant, according to jail records. (Photo: Washington County Jail)

Court records show Probst, Wellhoff and Rockwood each have criminal histories in Utah, ranging in severity.

Wellhoff pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, on June 5 in connection with an April 9 case. Sentencing in the case was originally slated for July 31 but was moved to Aug. 28, records show.

Rockwood pleaded guilty to theft, a third-degree felony, in August 2017.

Probst was found guilty of two infractions and issued another infraction June 27.

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com.

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