Naman Shrestha
In the summer of 2018, a mother of two named Jermain Charlo disappeared into thin air in Missoula, Montana, leading to an extensive search for her and various unanswered questions. For several years, the detectives interrogated different people of interest, but none of them led them anywhere. When a security camera video of the area where Jermain was last seen was released, hope was revived among her family and detectives. In the episode titled ‘Where is Jermain Charlo’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the focus is on her disappearance case, which is explored from the perspective of the authorities and her loved ones through exclusive interviews.
Jermain Charlo Vanished From Downtown Missoula Under Suspicious Circumstances in 2018
On April 23, 1995, Jermain Austin Charlo was welcomed into the world as a little bundle of joy who grew up in Missoula, Montana, and had a goofy personality with a great sense of humor. One of the family members she was really close to was her aunt Valenda Morigeau. Since she loved being outdoors and fishing, she would usually spend her spare time near a river, hunting for fish. Her other hobbies include drawing and knitting, both of which she had a knack for and an innate talent for. Since she grew up in a broken family, Jermain realized the importance of family by the time she started a family of her own with her boyfriend, Michael DeFrance.
During the course of their relationship, she gave birth to two adorable sons, whom she doted upon. She also tried her best to give them a stable familial environment, something that she did not have while growing up. Member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, Jermain resided on the Flathead Reservation. One of her ambitions was to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts. However, after becoming parents to two sons, Jermain and Michael’s relationship deteriorated, leading to their break up in 2017. Over the course of the following year, the former couple still had some tension between them as they seemingly stayed in touch after separating.
In the early hours of June 16, 2018, Jermain Charlo vanished in Missoula, specifically in the downtown area near Orange Street and South 5th Street. A few days following her sudden disappearance, her aunt, Valenda, grew concerned and reported that she had been missing. When the police launched a search for the missing mother of two, they came across the surveillance footage that showed where and with whom Jermain was in the hours leading up to her disappearance. As it turned out, she was walking the streets in downtown Missoula on the night of June 15 while her ex-boyfriend, Michael DeFrance, followed her. While Jermain socialized for some time outside a bar called The Badlander, Michael stood behind her.
Although Jermain Charlo Remains Missing, Hopes of Finding Her Are Still Alive
With Michael under suspicion of being involved in Jermain’s disappearance, the police brought him in for questioning. He claimed that he had dropped his ex-girlfriend near a food market in downtown Missoula around 1 am as she allegedly had plans to meet her friend, Cassidy. Although they could not find anyone named Cassidy associated with her life, the investigators learned that Jermain had been dating another man named Jacob, for whom she used to visit Missoula quite regularly. Upon interviewing Jacob, who was not in town when Jermain vanished, the detectives learned that when he tried calling her a few hours before her disappearance, his call went to voicemail after her phone rang a few times. In his opinion, someone had deliberately ended the call.
During his interrogation, Jacob also alleged that just a day before she went missing, Michael had asked her if she was dating someone else and expressed his desire to get back together. Due to his cooperation, the police never saw Jacob as one of the suspects in the case. As they dug deeper into the whereabouts of the missing woman’s cell phone, they discovered that her phone had been in Evaro Hill on the Flathead Reservation from 2 am to 10 am. This mystery was solved by Michael DeFrance, who told them that she had left her phone in his car, and in frustration, he had thrown it in Idaho on Highway 12. Although the phone was never recovered, Michael was not seen as a suspect as well.
Despite the best attempts of the investigators, Jermain Charlo has still not been found, but the investigation remains active. While the family of Jermain believes that she is no longer alive, the detectives have three possible theories about what happened to the woman. They believe that she was either trafficked, disappeared in relation to a drug-related activity, or someone close to her made her vanish. With the release of the security footage of the fateful night, the authorities are hopeful that it will eventually lead to new clues and answer several questions related to that night.
Read More: Michael DeFrance: Where is Jermain Charlo’s Ex-Boyfriend Now?
