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Hunt continues for suspect in Missouri police officer’s death

Person of Interest in the fatal shooting of a Clinton Police Officer:
Ian McCarthy, 39, of Clinton. Photo courtesy MSHP Facebook.

(Update Missourinet) –

3:45 p.m.

A Swat operation is reported to be in progress at a home in a Chilhowee neighborhood. Law enforcement has been working on a tip that Ian McCarthy could be in the area, and at the house when the Swat team has set up.

1:42 p.m.

The Chilhowee Corner Store about 22 miles north if Clinton has reportedly been on lock down since late Tuesday morning. It’s not known if the action was taken in response to the possibility of Ian McCarthy being in the area.

1:4o p.m.

The search for the man accused of killing a police officer late Sunday night in western-Missouri’s Clinton continues. 39-year-old Ian McCarthy has been on the loose since crashing his vehicle shortly after 37-year-old officer Gary Michael was shot during a traffic stop.

Henry County Sheriff J. Kent Oberkrom says search efforts continue to be concentrated in the local area, despite the growing length of time McCarthy’s been missing.

“That’s accurate because we don’t have any information to tell us otherwise” said Oberkrom. “It’s kind of a default decision. We don’t have any information that tells us that he’s away or gone to another location. So we’re assuming that he is still somewhere in the community.”

There have been no reports of stolen or missing vehicles that would’ve allowed McCarthy to flee the area. He’s charged with first degree murder in the incident.

Late Monday afternoon and into the night, law enforcement focused their search on a number of vacant properties where it was thought McCarthy could be hiding. Oberkrom says those locations have been fully explored.

“I feel pretty comfortable that anything that is vacant or had an open door got shook last night. These guys worked really hard, and they we’re calling out a lot of stuff. We searched a lot of vacant properties.”

Sheriff Oberkrom notes law enforcement’s been in touch with all known associates of McCarthy. He says they’ve been cooperative, but haven’t been able to provide useful information.

“We’ve been in contact with a lot of his folks and friends. Those folks are very limited. We’ve been in touch with them. At this point, I think most folks are comfortable that they would report. And their association with him has been very limited. Some have not seen him or had contact with him for several months.”

McCarthy is also not known to have been employed anywhere in the Clinton area, or have any relatives close-by.

5 a.m. Tuesday

Efforts to track down 39-year-old Ian McCarthy, who’s charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Clinton, Missouri police officer Gary Michael, were unsuccessful Monday night.

At about 9:30 p.m. Monday night, law enforcement teams appeared to gather and conference at the city’s new 9-1-1 center. Several locations were staked out earlier in the day where it was thought McCarthy might be hold up, including a closed up school and a number of houses.

McCarthy was not found.

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Person of Interest in the fatal shooting of a Clinton Police Officer:
Ian McCarthy, 39, of Clinton. Photo courtesy MSHP Facebook.

CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities searching for a suspect in the killing of a western Missouri police officer believe he is still in the area where the shooting occurred.

State, county and city law enforcement officers are searching for 39-year-old Ian McCarthy, who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Clinton police officer Gary Michael late Sunday.

Michael was killed during a traffic stop in Clinton, 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said early Tuesday that investigators have no information indicating McCarthy has left Clinton or Henry County.

Lowe says investigators are “fairly certain” McCarthy is still on foot.

Michael was the first officer to die in the line of duty in Clinton, a town of about 9,000 people.

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