Death investigation in Advance causes multiple school districts to lockdown

ADVANCE, Mo. — One suspect was taken into custody in a suspicious death investigation that caused multiple nearby school districts to go into lockdown.

Caution tape surrounded a one-story home at 604 W. Duckett St. on Tuesday afternoon in Advance, where members of the Stoddard County Major Case Squad investigated the overnight death.

As the major case squad continued its investigation, lockdown protocols were implemented in the Scott County, Advance and Zalma school districts, according to social media posts by the schools.

At 10:05 a.m., a social media post from the Advance School District stated “contrary to rumors floating around, Advance schools are NOT on lockdown.” A second post from the school district at 10:40 a.m. stated Advance police chief Donnie Bohnsack told the school there was no reason to be on lockdown, and the school had taken “a few extra safety precautions such as having indoor recess.”

The Scott County School District first disclosed of a lockdown at 9:52 a.m. in a message stating “all students are safe and secure” while the school was “under lockdown due to an exterior situation” and no one should attempt to approach the school.

An update at 10:48 a.m. from the Scott County School District stated the exterior lockdown was still in effect and students “are going to lunch, using the bathrooms and resuming classes as usual.”

The Zalma School District issued a social media post at 10:57 a.m. notifying parents of a lockdown in Zalma “as a precautionary measure” and stated there was no trouble on school grounds. The post also stated “the state and county police are presently in pursuit of an individual in the Advance and Zalma areas.”

The Delta School District posted updates throughout the day advising parents and community members the school was taking extra safety precautions and staying aware of the situation in Advance, but according to superintendent David Heeb, the schools did not enter a lockdown.

“We were in communication with law enforcement and other superintendents, and we appreciate them keeping us informed,” Heeb said.

At 11:26 a.m., Advance schools issued a third post on social media stating all students were safe and Advance schools would be going on lockdown “as a precaution and on advice from law enforcement.”

Later in the afternoon at the scene of the death investigation in Advance, Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner said a male suspect had since been taken into custody. Hefner could not identify the suspect in custody Tuesday evening, but said charges against the suspect in Stoddard County are pending.

The sheriff said the lockdowns at nearby schools were related to the case and preventative measures were taken by the schools because the suspect had not been arrested.

By 12:45 p.m., the Advance and the Scott County school districts had advised their lockdowns had ended. The Zalma School District updated its original social media post and stated they were no longer on lockdown.

Advance superintendent Shannon Garner declined to comment on the lockdown, and said there was no further information to share at this time other than what had been disclosed on the school district’s Facebook page.

According to Hefner, the major case squad is still active.