Paonia, CO: Husband held in woman’s death in Paonia

A woman was found dead at a home in Paonia on Friday and her estranged husband was in custody as a suspect in what authorities said was a homicide investigation.

Nathan Yager, 37, a Paonia resident, was taken into custody after turning himself in around 3:15 p.m. at the Montrose Police Department, Paonia police spokesman Neal Schwieterman said.

As of early Friday evening, Yager was being interviewed by agents of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at the Delta County Jail, but Yager had not booked in connection with his wife’s death, Schwieterman said. Paonia police had been trying locate Yager after his wife’s body was discovered near her home at 427 Delta Ave., in Paonia., Schwieterman said.

A Paonia officer, who was dispatched to the home around 1 p.m. to investigate a trespassing report, was alerted by a witness to the presence of a body on the property, Schwieterman said.

The woman’s name was being withheld, pending notification of next-of-kin, Schwieterman said.