Man Accused of Murdering Dad and Burning Cabin Where a Swat Team Tracked Him in ‘Waist-Deep Snow’

An Alaska man is facing criminal charges after police say he fatally shot his father and then tried to burn down a cabin when authorities closed in on him.

At 8:25 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, Alaska State Troopers responding to a call for a welfare check at a home in Sutton found Nicholas Wells, 56, dead of multiple gunshot wounds, the Alaska State Troopers said in a statement.

Five minutes later, troopers found Nicholas in the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Trailblazer, according to an affidavit obtained by the Anchorage Daily News.

A family member called 911 that night saying she was afraid that Nicholas’ son, Grant Wells, 21, was going to kill his father, according to the affidavit.

At about 8 p.m. that night, Nicholas texted his daughter saying, “I just might leave maybe he kill himself,” authorities said, KTUU reports.

A neighbor heard gunshots at about 8:15 p.m., authorities said, according to KTUU.

Troopers identified Grant as a person of interest.

After an intense manhunt, authorities found his Nissan Versa in a desolate section of Glenn Highway.

A SWAT team dispatched to help with the manhunt tracked Grant in “waist-deep snow” to a small cabin, according to the statement.

“After making commands for Grant Wells to exit the cabin, he started a fire in the cabin, which consumed the entire structure,” according to the statement.

Grant was arrested after running out of the cabin, the statement says. He is charged with murder, arson, misconduct involving a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and criminal trespass, according to online court records.

As Grant awaits his next court date, his family remains devastated by Nicholas Wells’ murder.

Describing Nicholas as outdoorsy, Emmanuel Velazquez, the fiancee of Nicholas’ daughter Aimee Wells, said he “wanted to take for us to go on a big fishing trip, catch a bunch of salmon, stay there for, like, 24 hours,” KTUU reports. “[He] talked about the snow machine all the time. Just going out and doing stuff with either me, us, his granddaughter, obviously 24/7. That’s all he really cared about.”

A GoFundMe has been set up by Aimee to help defray funeral costs and other expenses.

Online court records do not list an attorney for Grant.