Manhunt for woman's killer shuts schools in Texas County

LEBANON, Mo. (AP) -- Schools in two south-central Missouri towns were kept closed Wednesday as police hunted for a man accused of fatally shooting a woman the day before, a Highway Patrol spokesman said.

A manhunt was under way in the wooded Ozark hills around the rural town of Roby in Texas County, south of Fort Leonard Wood.

Sgt. Marty Elmore of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

Neldon H. Neal, 60, was charged with second-degree murder Tuesday afternoon in the shooting death of Judy S. Lewis, 51, who Elmore said was an acquaintance of the suspect.

"He was observed leaving (the scene) with weapons, so we know he's armed and he's certainly dangerous," Elmore said.

Schools in the communities of Plato and Success were closed Wednesday as a precaution while the manhunt is ongoing.

Elmore said the shooting occurred about 2:10 p.m. Tuesday at a trailer about a mile west of Roby. He said the victim was shot with a handgun of an undetermined caliber.

Neal was last seen leaving the trailer on foot dressed in camouflage pants and a flannel shirt. Apparently he did not drive from the scene even though he had a vehicle there.

Elmore said a woman who apparently witnessed the shooting brought the victim to a convenience story in Roby, about a mile or two from the scene.

"They took her up there in the hopes of getting an ambulance there, but from talking to the coroner, I think she was dead probably instantly, or very shortly thereafter," Elmore said.

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Information from: The Lebanon Daily Record, http://lebanondailyrecord.com