Phoenix - A fugitive thought to be hiding in the wilderness on the Arizona-Utah line laid in wait and ambushed a Utah sheriff's deputy who was pursuing him after an attempted burglary, fatally shooting the deputy with a high-powered rifle, authorities said Friday.

Scott Curley, 23, hid beneath a tree in the small town of Fredonia just south of the Utah border and waited for two pursuing deputies to get closer, Coconino County sheriff's spokeswoman Erika Wiltenmuth said.

That's when Wiltenmuth said Curley raised his rifle and shot at the deputies, killing 41-year-old Kane County Deputy Brian Harris, a married father of two. Harris was hit from between 40 and 150 feet away.

A massive manhunt was under way for Curley, who fled into the wilderness covered with rock formations and caves.

Curley was familiar with the area and may have stashed food and supplies in caves and cliffs described as "spider holes," his friends told investigators.

"I think he had malice in his heart, but I didn't think it would go this far," said Richard Pulliam, a neighbor of Curley in Fredonia.

Harris was shot Thursday afternoon while chasing Curley, who was suspected of trying to burglarize Fredonia High School and holding a janitor at gunpoint for an unknown period of time on Wednesday night. The janitor was unharmed, and Curley avoided authorities until the Thursday chase. He continued to elude capture Friday, and authorities were preparing for a dayslong search

"He's very mobile," Wiltenmuth said. "He's moving around a lot, and he's very comfortable out in the wilderness. That's what's making it difficult to apprehend him."

Coconino County issued a temporary felony warrant for first-degree murder for Curley.

"He has been reportedly carrying a high-powered rifle and has already shot and killed a sheriff's deputy," Wiltenmuth said. "Officer safety and citizen safety is the primary concern."

The manhunt included 120 law officers with 21 agencies, some in helicopters or handling tracking dogs, searching the remote desert.

Pulliam, 68, who has lived across the street from Curley and three other men since 2005, told The Associated Press that the four men would sometimes party at their house into the late-night hours or drive home drunk and pass out on the lawn before making it inside.

"They'd have fights out on the streets and get to whoopin' and hollerin' at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning," he said.

Meanwhile, family and communiHarris is survived by his wife Shawna, 13-year-old daughter Kirsten, 10-year-old daughter Kristina, five brothers, a sister, and his parents.