A man charged with killing his ex-wife and another man in rural Carroll County, Missouri, was found dead inside a recreational vehicle in Decatur, Illinois, on Wednesday afternoon, ending the search. Investigators say 48-year-old Ryan Munson died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound just as officers moved in to arrest him.
Munson had been charged Tuesday by the Carroll County prosecuting attorney with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 46-year-old Bobbie Munson and 49-year-old Donald Horine, both of Carrollton, Missouri, according to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV. The Missouri Rural Major Case Squad, activated by the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, investigated the double homicide at a home near Route MM and County Road 250, roughly six miles east of Carrollton, and said it had obtained evidence connecting Munson to the shooting deaths of the two victims.
Court records show Ryan Munson and Bobbie Munson divorced in September 2024, at which time he listed an employer located in Decatur, Illinois — a detail that, per KMMO, helped explain why investigators eventually concentrated their search on that city more than 300 miles from the crime scene. Carrollton itself is a small community, with roughly 3,500 residents serving as the seat of Carroll County, a rural stretch of west-central Missouri with a total population of just 8,495 spread across 695 square miles, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
A Tri-State Chase Along Route 61
The Carroll County Sheriff's Office requested activation of the Missouri Rural Major Case Squad on Sunday, August 23, pulling in more than 40 investigators from multiple regional agencies, the squad's report indicates. Later that same afternoon, investigators tracked Munson traveling north on U.S. Route 61 in a pickup truck bearing Missouri plate 3YHG01.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control was involved in the investigation. Investigators came to believe Munson was hiding at a property in Decatur, Illinois, per the Highway Patrol, setting up the standoff that would end the search days later.
Marshals Find Munson Dead Inside a Parked RV
The United States Marshals Service and area law enforcement attempted to contact Munson around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at an address in southeastern Decatur. Instead of an arrest, officers discovered his body inside a recreational vehicle parked on the property, according to the same Highway Patrol account cited by KMMO. Investigators believe he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Missouri's first-degree murder statute classifies the offense as a Class A felony carrying penalties limited to life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty for adult defendants, per Rose Legal Services. An autopsy and an investigation into Ryan Munson's death were underway. Officials say investigations into both his death and the Carroll County homicide remain active.
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