LEWISTOWN — A 37-year-old Bloomsburg man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of former Mifflin County resident, Katlyn Harp.

Vincent Harp was arraigned Sunday on charges of criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence before Magisterial District Judge Brenda Hess Williams.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause on Friday, June 20, a patrolman received a call from Heather Lane, of Lewistown, requesting a welfare check on her sister, Katlyn Harp.

Lane informed the Hemlock Township Police that her sister lived at 20 Fairview Drive in Hemlock Township with her husband, Vincent Harp. She said that she would hear from her sister everyday and it was “not like her to go without communication.”

Lane also related to police that she had been in communication with Vincent Harp and he had informed her of an argument that occurred with his wife the night prior to her disappearance.

Life360, a location sharing app that Lane and her sister were on, stopped sharing Katlyn Harps location the night of June 19.

That day, a regional message was sent through East Central Communications to all local Police Departments to be on the lookout for Katlyn Harp.

Between June 20 and June 22 the Hemlock Police Department utilized investigation efforts such as interviews with family members, consulting local law enforcement with jurisdiction over properties the Harps were known to frequent, and contacting the treatment center Katlyn Harp went to get methadone treatment, said police.

Through the investigation, it was learned Harp had no contact with anyone since June 19. Vincent Harp provided police with screenshots of text messages sent from his phone to his wife’s and had said he had no contact with his wife since June 19 between 9 to 11 p.m.

The report states that by Sunday, June 22, Pennsylvania State Police at Bloomsburg barracks was contacted by the Columbia County District Attorney who advised of the ongoing investigation and said that during his conversation with Hemlock Township Police Department it was requested the investigation be handed over to State Police.

The Pennsylvania State Police Troop N Cellular Analysis Technician “completed an exigency request” for Katlyn Harp’s phone record, according to reports.

On June 23 Harp was interviewed at the State Police Bloomsburg barracks at which time it was revealed he had been in constant communication with his wife the days and hours leading to her disappearance.

Harp claimed to have “received a message from Katlyn in the early morning hours” of June 19 after her Life360 location was no longer active.

Police said throughout the interview Harp’s story had inconsistencies such as sharing he had met with his counselor, then saying he had not met with his counselor on the morning of June 20. He initially told police he had his phone Friday morning, then told them he had left his phone at the office. He also omitted locations he traveled as well as failed to report interactions he had with Katlyn Harp.

Throughout the investigation, police gathered Vincent Harp had appeared at a gas station located at 100 Montour Street in Danville in June 20 at which he asked the cashier “if the store sold gloves,” the cashier informed him they did not to which he “asked the cashier if he could borrow a pair from the store” as he only “needed one pair.”

Harp was observed on video putting the gloves in his back pocket and walking back to his silver Chevrolet Silverado. This identified the vehicle used to travel to a location of interest in the investigation.

The location of interest is located on Shade Mountain Road, a mountain road that is approximately 15 miles long and not heavily traveled. During his interview, Harp was “unable to articulate a reason for being on the stretch of roadway.”

It is known that Harp was stuck on this roadway on the morning of June 20 between 10 and 11 a.m., causing both Harp and the vehicle to become covered in mud.

Harp’s cellular device was examined and it was determined he returned to this location Friday night between 6:20 and 6:50 p.m, according to police. During examination of the heavily wooded area “drag marks” were found into and out of the woods. The drag marks originated from “the location that Vincent Harp’s phone communicated with network.”

On June 25 a recently sold 2022 Kawasaki UTV was brought to Pennsylvania State Police Bloomsburg Barracks; a field test was conducted, revealing a presumptive positive for human blood. This UTV was known to have been utilized by Harp as recently as June 18 via trail cam footage provided by a neighbor. The UTV was sold by Harp on June 24.

Further investigation of Harp’s cellular data provided a mapped path of travel on June 20 as he returned home from Shade Mountain Road. The Middleburg Police Department provided video surveillance of Harp’s Chevrolet Silverado passing the station with a “large green box” in the bed of his vehicle.

Reports said there was also surveillance obtained from the VFW also showing Harp’s vehicle pass, also “clearly (depicting) a large green box” in the bed of the vehicle. Both locations are consistent with his cellular activity.

On June 29, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Lane called Pennsylvania State Police Bloomsburg Barracks to inform them she and a search party “believed they had located Katlyn” at 86 Harp Lane in Montour Township, a property formerly owned by Harp.

Consent was obtained from the current homeowner and investigators and other emergency personnel responded.

A large, green metal box was found, consistent with the one observed in the bed of Harp’s truck, along the mountainside north of Harp’s former property, approximately 180 yards from the edge of the cliff.

The box had a “strong odor of decomposition emitting from it,” and was locked with a key master lock. Upon cutting the lock and opening the box, human remains were discovered and identified as Katlyn Harp by a tattoo according to police

Upon further examination of Harp’s phone records, police discovered he had been in the area on June 21 around 10:30 a.m., passing the dump site area on Route 42. At approximately 6 p.m. his phone was on Hollow Road, just west of Harp Lane.

With all of the evidence, a warrant of arrest was requested and granted for Vincent Harp.

Harp is being held without bail in Columbia County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. July 14.