~~UPDATED:~~Suspect In Community Activists Murder Kills Himself:

Stephanie Regan (courtesy Christian County Headliner)

Authorities in Christian County are investigating the murder of a longtime board member of the Ozark Fire Protection District and the Christian County Coalition On Aging.

Sheriff Joey Kyle says that Stephanie Regan called 9-1-1 about 8 p.m. last night (July 5th) and said someone she knew had shot in her home at 3511 N. Bobolink, in the Quail Run subdivision.

First responders found Regan dead from multiple in her kitchen when they arrived. The suspect, who has been identified as a family member by marriage, J. K. is not in custody and is considered armed and dangerous.

Kyle says identification of the suspect is being withheld pending the filing of formal charges by prosecutor Ron Cleek.

Ozark police chief Lyle Hodges says his department is assisting in the investigation along with investigators from the Highway Patrol.

Authorities have executed a search warrant on another home in Ozark in their search for evidence and the suspect.

The suspect is believed to still be in the area and is believed to be driving a green 1995 Chevrolet extended cab pickup truck with personalized license plate JHK-1.Anyone with information on the suspect or the vehicle is asked to call the Christian County Sheriff’s Office at 417-581-2332 or 9-1-1.


UPDATE 3:20 p.m. Suspect Found Dead:

According to scanner traffic, the suspect was in a chase for about 10 minutes in Webster County. The suspect was cornered at Hwy W and Brinkley in Marshfield. Authorities surrounded his vehicle and ordered him to step out when the man shot himself.

UPDATE 4:45 p.m.:

Kubowicz's truck being processed by MO HPD (courtesy Marshfield Mail)

Sources say that Jerry Kubowicz, 51, had gone to a friends house in Webster County and told him what had happened. That friend called police to tell them that Kubowicz was at their home. When officers arrived at that residence, Kubowicz took off in his truck.

Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole says that his office was contacted by the Highway Patrol to be on the lookout for the suspect. "It didn't turn out like we'd hoped."

Christian County Prosecutor Ron Cleek says that Kubowicz's wife Cindy "Filed for divorce from him last week (06-28) took the children and went to Chicago. He couldn't find her and went to Stephanie's house. She was on the phone with dispatch to report that Kubowicz was at the house when the shooting started. Investigators used manpower and cellular phone technology to track Kubowicz,"

Detectives say that three people saw Kbuowicz at his mother-in-laws home at the time of her murder.

Cleek says, "Everybody knew Stephanie....she was loved by many people."