Missing Since: 2018-06-16 Location: Missoula, Montana
Charlo was last seen in Missoula, Montana on June 16, 2018. Late night before, she went to the Badlander, Golden Rose and Dark Horse bars. Between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on June 16, she was dropped off on Fifth Street between Russell and Orange streets, and was last seen walking east towards the Orange Street Food Farm. Later that morning, between 2:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., Charlo’s cellular phone pinged in an area of the Flathead Indian Reservation called Evaro Hill, about fourteen miles from downtown Missoula. She has never been heard from again and is considered missing under suspicious circumstances. She hasn’t used social media since her disappearance, which is uncharacteristic of her. On the night of her disappearance, she supposedly had plans to meet a friend named Cassidy, but authorities haven’t been able to find any person known to Charlo who had that name. She often went to Missoula to visit her boyfriend, but he was out of state that weekend. On the night of her disappearance, a man was seen following Charlo as she socialized at the bars. The man was subsequently identified as Michael DeFrance; he is her ex-boyfriend and the father of her two children. He lived in the area of Evaro Hill where Charlo’s phone pinged. He later told police Charlo left her phone in his car, and that two days later threw the phone away at mile marker 94 on Highway 12 in Idaho. Authorities searched this area but never found the phone. There was a history of domestic violence in DeFrance and Charlo’s relationship; in 2013 he pleaded guilty to partner/family member assault to her and admitted he’d struck her three times with his fist. The couple broke up in 2017, and got in a custody battle over their sons. The judge decided the boys would live with DeFrance and gave Charlo visitation. After Charlo’s disappearance, authorities seized guns from DeFrance’s property and he was convicted of unlawful possession of firearms and sentenced to 21 months in prison. His conviction was overturned on appeal, however, in December 2024. He has not been identified as a suspect in Charlo’s case, and neither has her boyfriend. Authorities believe Charlo is no longer alive. At the time of her disappearance, she lived on the Flathead Reservation about forty miles from Missoula. Her case remains unsolved. Investigating Agency Missoula Police Department 406-552-6300 Source Information Montana Missing Persons Clearinghouse The Missoulian ABC Montana KPAX 8 Tribute to Native Women, We are still missing Jermain Charlo’s Facebook Page Montana Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women KXLH 9 The Lake County Leader Newsweek CBS News Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 12, 2025; details of disappearance updated.