Missouri Police Raid Fails to Locate Fugitive Jackson

Special weapons teams stormed a vacant house here today but did not find Michael Wayne Jackson, the fugitive sought in a three-state crime spree in which three people were killed.

Searchers were led to the house by bloodhounds that picked up a scent at a vacant trailer where authorities found evidence possibly linked to Jackson, said Hal Helterhoff, agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis office.

The house was just one block east of the Wright City Police Department, the command center for the hunt.

Police evacuated 13 families in the neighborhood before dawn as a precaution. The SWAT teams moved in at 6:45 a.m. and took turns checking the three floors, but found no sign of the fugitive.

“I’m afraid our suspicions have been borne out,” Sgt. Jim Lee said. “My mind just can’t accept this at this point.”

“We still do not know his whereabouts,” Helterhoff said after the house search. “We don’t experience frustration. It’s just our job.”

Jackson, 41, of Indianapolis is suspected of killing three people and briefly abducting at least five on Sept. 22. Fears about him shattered the calm of this eastern Missouri community of about 1,200 people, and residents began arming themselves and locking their doors.

Traffic was halted during the house search and reporters were moved half a mile away.

“This has gone on long enough,” said Delbert Whelchel of nearby Winfield. “We’ve driven through roadblocks all week, and now this.”