UPDATE: Suspect in day-long standoff is dead, police say

A man who allegedly shot at deputies and barricaded himself into a home in Amherst is dead, one day after a shelter in place order was issued for the area.

Portage County Sheriff Mike Lukas, in a news release issued late Saturday, said a death investigation is underway and 32-year-old Jeffery E. Miller was located inside the home. Miller, of Sauk County, kept police at bay for nearly 24 hours before his body was discovered by SWAT team members, inside the home’s attic. The shelter in place order has since been lifted.

Lukas said the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations has now taken over the investigation.

Nearby residents in Amherst were on lockdown since about 6 p.m. July 25, when Miller was located a 450 Mill St., in the northeastern area of the village.

Miller was an armed fugitive wanted for the attempted murder of a sheriff’s deputy in Sauk Co. on Tuesday. Following two days of surveillance by law enforcement and U.S. Marshals, officials confirmed Miller was at the Amherst home. Five people were arrested there, accused of harboring a fugitive.

The defendants — Thomas DeCarlo, 20, of Stevens Point; Edward Deyo, 61, of Coloma; Chrissy Ann Miller, 43, of Baraboo; Brodee T. Voelker, 29, of Plover; and Brandon J. Laux, 34, also of Plover — were represented by public defender Taylor Soule Friday during initial appearances and were ordered held on cash bonds. Their relationship to Miller is unclear.

Lukas said while “several shots” were fired at officers, no law enforcement personnel were injured.

A cause of death has not been released.