Murders in Agency, Missoula under investigation
A teenager with ties to Polson is being sought in connection with a double homicide in Missoula earlier this month.
Missoula Police are seeking information on the whereabouts of 18-year-old LaBenza Dawn Charlo. She is described as a Native-American female, 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds. She has brown hair and eyes, and her last known address is Polson, although she may be staying in Missoula, police said. Law enforcement says to consider her armed and dangerous, and to call local authorities as soon as possible if she is seen. Police did not elaborate on her alleged connection to the homicides.
Jason Flink, 23, and Megan McLaughlin, 31, were found dead Oct. 19 at the Mountain Valley Inn in Missoula. A third person was “seriously wounded by gunfire,” according to a press release from Missoula Police Sgt. Travis Welsh.
Suspects in the Missoula murders, Preston Rossbach, 18, and Jonathan Whitworth, 27, made initial court appearances last week in Missoula County on two counts each of accountability for deliberate homicide or alternate charges of two counts of deliberate homicide. Both suspects are currently at the Missoula County Jail, each on a $250,000 bond.
Jordan Kilby, of the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, said that while the motive for the double homicide is under investigation, drug activity is suspected.
Anyone with other information is asked to contact Missoula Detective Mark Blood at 406-552-6281, or Detective Devin Erickson at 406-552-6291.
Area law enforcement agencies are not commenting on speculation that the Missoula homicides are connected to a recent fatal shooting in Sanders County that remains under investigation.
According to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, on Oct. 5 the county dispatch center received a report of a person who was shot in Agency, just outside Dixon. Law enforcement found the body of William Conko-Camel at the scene upon arrival.
In an Oct. 7 press release, the Sheriff’s Office stated that it had identified three people of interest, “their whereabouts is being sought at this time. At this point the Sheriff’s Office has determined that there is not a threat to the public.”
Both Sanders County and Missoula Police Department representatives said that they cannot comment on investigations outside of their own agencies.
“Public safety is our number one priority,” Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel told the Clark Fork Valley Press.
“We do not want people thinking we as a department are not putting safety first. Because this is an open investigation and we are working with other agencies, we are ensuring that all leads are followed diligently and correctly by the law,” Rummel said.
Sanders County Undersheriff Lanny Hensley added that there are a number of variables that come into play when investigating such extreme crimes.