Fargo Police arrested 21-year-old Joshua Alexander Hite last night in connection with the disappearance of 25-year-old Isadora Wengel of West Fargo.
Police Chief Dave Zibolski says authorities have probable cause to charge him with murder and evidence tampering.
"We do not believe Isadora is alive, and we're asking you to keep the family in your thoughts and prayers."
Wengel was reported missing January 7th. Her father last saw her December 31st, and authorities say she was staying with Hite at his apartment.
Zibolski says Hite was the man initially detained and questioned about Isadora’s disappearance, but no probable cause to arrest him was available at that time. The investigation lead to a search warrant being executed at Hite’s apartment, ten days of searching in 12-hour shifts at a Fargo landfill, and additional investigations conducted into Otter Tail County and the Fergus Falls area in Minnesota. Zibolski says Hite told authorities he last saw Isadora on January 5th, but that they did not find his assertions to be credible. Zibolski says authorities believe Isadora may have been dismembered before being disposed of.
He says cooperation from the public has been vital to the investigation. And he says they are asking for more help.
"Based on the fact that we know the disposal of her body occurred during extreme cold weather with significant snow on the ground, we now find ourselves in the middle of a mid-winter thaw which may reveal her whereabouts. We know that Mr. Hite had sent and received a specific type of black tote, shown here on the screen. There was actually two of these delivered to his apartment, only one of these was recovered during the search warrant on January 9th. We're asking community members in these areas to search their properties, especially those in rural areas along roadways, throughout this area we've described, for any sign of this type of tote, or any sign of Isadora."
The tote is described as a 27 gallon tote. The search area includes the Fargo-Moorhead metro, Otter Tail County in Minnesota, specifically Fergus Falls, Elizabeth, Battle Lake or or Underwood.
Zibolski says if anyone sees anything, they are asked to forward that information on to their local authorities.
