WYOMING, Mich (July 18, 2014) - The search for a missing pregnant teenager tied to a homicide investigation in Wyoming has come to a tragic end.
Wyoming Police Chief James Carmody said at a press conference early Friday morning that Brooke Ann Slocum, 18, was found dead inside the trunk of a vehicle involved in a police pursuit late Thursday evening in Wyoming.
Investigators say a suspect was under surveillance at a home in Wyoming when undercover officers witnessed the suspect leave the home around 9:15 p.m. Thursday.
Officers conducting the surveillance were awaiting a search warrant for the suspect's home. Officers had also requested the use of a Special Response Team after they uncovered information that the suspect may be armed and dangerous and in possession of what Chief Carmody described as "assault-style" weapons.
Uniformed officers were dispatched to stop the suspect's vehicle, which was driven away from police starting near Burton Street and Burlingame Avenue.
Investigators say the suspect, while trying to escape, crashed the vehicle near the U.S. 131 entrance ramp at Burton Street. When responding officers approached the vehicle, Chief Carmody says, the suspect was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect's name hasn't been released.
Slocum was found deceased in the trunk of that vehicle shortly after. Slocum was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing.
Shortly after the crash and what was described as a "high-risk" traffic stop Thursday night, investigators on scene confirmed the situation was tied to the Wednesday homicide of Charles Oppenneer, 25.
Oppenneer was found dead in a wooded area just north of Gezon Court in Wyoming around noon on Wednesday. Officers found Oppenneer while investigating an abandoned vehicle in the area.
Investigators originally were looking to speak to a couple in a white SUV who spoke to a Wyoming officer in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 13, at a nearby gas station. That couple has since made contact with authorities and have been cleared.
Wyoming Police announced the search for Slocum Thursday afternoon and said she was believed to have been the last person to have contact with Oppenneer before he was found dead.
