Police have arrested and charged a man with the murder of his wife, whose body was found Friday in a remote part of Oregon, seven days after she went missing after taking her two dogs for a walk.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said its deputies arrested Michel Fournier, 71, on Saturday for the murder of 61-year-old Susan Lane-Fournier. He is being held in a county jail without bail on a charge of second-degree murder.
The body of Lane-Fournier — who went by the name “Phoenix” — was found Friday in the remote wilderness of Welches, an unincorporated community at the foot of Mount Hood, east of Portland. An autopsy conducted Saturday found the cause of death was homicide.
Susan Lane-Fournier.
The discovery was made only after more than 800 hours of searching during which dozens of officers, K9s and volunteers searched more than 100 miles of track. Her two Malinois mix dogs were also found dead separately, the sheriff’s office said.
Lane-Fournier was first reported missing when she failed to show up for work at a local store on November 22. The next day, a member of the public spotted her white 1992 Ford F-250 parked near East Salmon River Road.
“Investigators wish to speak to anyone who may have seen Michel Fournier in the days before her disappearance or who has information regarding his activities and whereabouts since then,” the sheriff’s office said.
A month before her disappearance, Fournier-Lane had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In court documents obtained by Portland NBC affiliate KGW8, she gave her name as Susan Lane.
Local people spoke of their shock over her alleged murder and some gathered at her workplace, a store that sells exotic imported goods, to pray for her, KGW8 reported.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
