UPDATED: Private investigator says case of missing Littlefield couple ‘is a homicide’

LITTLEFIELD, Ariz. — A private investigator working for the family of Jerry and Susan McFalls, the couple who mysteriously went missing from their home in Littlefield, Arizona, said he does not believe they are still alive, but a passionate search for leads continues.

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Update March 27, 7 p.m. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office has released information about the processing of items gathered at the McFalls’ Littlefield property.

Presumptive tests were conducted on a mattress cover that appeared to have blood spots, with negative results for blood evidence. According to family members, a family friend used the property for recreational shooting after investigators’ initial search, which contributed to additional shell casings being discovered later. Any other items found on the property were most likely caused by contamination from other individuals on the property after detectives cleared the residence, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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The McFalls, both 63, have not been heard from since Jan. 11 and are listed as missing and possibly endangered by Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s National Crime Information Center.

In the intervening months since their disappearance, weekly searches by family, friends and supporters have been conducted near their rustic desert home.

The search was recently kicked into overdrive by bounty hunter David Bounsall of Las Vegas-based Federal Fugitive Recovery Agency.

Bounsall has been voluntarily helping the family investigate the couple’s disappearance and has spent considerable time examining the McFalls’ home for clues.

“Right now we don’t have a body,” Bounsall said, “but we’ve got a lot of circumstantial evidence.”

Although law enforcement still lists it as such, Bounsall said he believes the disappearance is not simply a case of missing and endangered persons.

“This is not a missing person case at all,” he said. “This is a homicide, no question about it.”

Mohave County Sheriff’s detectives conducted a search of the property Jan. 23, finding the couple’s vehicles, keys, guns, pets, phones, money and other items ­– including a rotten pork roast apparently left out to thaw – undisturbed at the home.

However, investigators may have missed several pieces of evidence in their initial sweep of the property, Bounsall said.

He and his crew found the following items in a search of the property earlier this month:

• A mattress cover appearing to be covered in blood buried in a rubbish pile outside.
• Bullet holes in the walls of a shed.
• A boot print of what appeared to be blood on a patio chair.
• Shell casings not consistent with any firearms owned by the McFalls.

The evidence was shown to Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies.

“The items collected by the Fugitive Recovery Agent are in the possession of MCSO and will be processed as soon as possible,” Mohave County Sheriff’s Office public information specialist Anita Mortensen told St. George News in an email Friday.

Until the items are processed, the nature of the investigation as a missing persons case will not change, Mortensen said, stressing that any searches conducted by Federal Fugitive Recovery Agency are not affiliated with the Sheriff’s Office’ investigation.

Bounsall and supporters of the family also conducted a series of digs on the property in search of bodies or other leads.

“We dug the septic tank up, and we checked it,” Bounsall said. “We did a few digs on the property besides the septic tank, as well, and we didn’t find anything there.”

He said future searches will now focus on the desert and hills surrounding the McFalls’ home.

Supporters showed up in Littlefield Saturday and Sunday for an extensive search.

“We had an incredible turnout,” Bounsall said. “We had a lot of people come out from Las Vegas and St. George.”

Crews posted and passed out reward flyers during the search. A private group is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the McFalls’ recovery or information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons found responsible for their disappearance.

Read more: 2 months on, search continues for missing Littlefield couple; $5,000 reward offered

Any information about the whereabouts of Jerry and Susan McFalls should be directed to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office by calling 928-753-0753.

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