On Thursday, a Palmer Grand Jury indicted 22-year-old Ian Millard of Wasilla for the 2023 murder of Ataja Banks following a detailed investigation led by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
Millard was taken into custody on Friday by the Alaska State Trooper SWAT team while driving on Knik Goose Bay Road. He has been remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial on his active arrest warrant. He faces charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Manslaughter, and Tampering with Physical Evidence.
Banks, 18, went missing in November 2023 from the Anchorage area. Initial investigations by the Anchorage Police Department transitioned to the Alaska State Troopers after it was determined she was last seen in the Mat-Su Valley. Human remains were found on September 4, 2025, near Moose Meadows Road in Wasilla and positively identified as Banks…