http://www.14news.com/story/1941203...r-person-of-interest-in-death-of-teenage-girl
WHITE CO, IL (WFIE) -
A river search underway for a man named a person of interest in the shooting death of a teenage girl.
22-year-old Jacob Wheeler of Norris City and 17-year-old Jessica Evans were reported missing on Sunday.
Evans' body was found Monday afternoon in White County, Illinois.
The White County Sheriff's Office says Wheeler's family has been out looking for Wheeler as well. Although, he says with so many days since their investigation began, it doesn't seem there is a good outcome for anyone. The sheriff's office believes Wheeler could either be hurt, running away from authorities, or dead.
"We haven't located him now for two or three days, so we have to start having an assumption that he may still be out here and has gotten out of this area," said White County Sheriff Doug Maier.
The White County Sheriff's Office along with other state agencies have been actively looking for Wheeler on land since Sunday. Now, they're searching for a body.
"We've done a pretty extensive ground search on both sides of the river on that area, and we've located nothing so the area that we haven't obviously been able to search has been in the water," Maier said.
Conservation police are searching a two mile area on the Little Wabash River from where the sheriff's office says Evans and Wheeler were camping and where Evans' body was found in the bed of Wheeler's pick up truck.
"We at this point haven't ruled out anything because we don't know exactly what happened at that camp area or along the river on that area. We have some ideas of what might have happened, but we certainly aren't ruling out any possibility," Maier said. "Yeah, we are listing Jake as a person of interest, but we also have ruled out that he might be a victim in this situation. Bottom line we have to locate him no matter what the scenario is."
An autopsy confirmed Evans died from several gun shot wounds to the head.
Sheriff Maier says Wheeler had access to a gun that is now missing from Wheeler's family member.
"The main focus we have is we have to locate Jacob Wheeler," Maier states.
Evans was two weeks into her senior year at Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Schools. Superintendent Cliff Karnes says she loved art and had goals to become a nurse in the military.
Karnes says counselors were on hand at the school this week for students. There are only about 200 students in the entire high school.
"One of them made a statement they are grieving together and they are learning to get through this together, which I think is one of our strengths. We are so small, but so close. As it affects one student, it affects most of us," Karnes said.
Evans' funeral is planned for this Saturday in Norris City.
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