COLE CAMP, Mo. – The deaths of three people inside a house in the central Missouri town of Cole Camp have been ruled homicides, authorities said in a press release Wednesday.
The bodies of Donnie R. Luetjen, 64, Sharon K. Luetjen, 61, and Taron D. Luetjen, 15, all from Cole Camp, Missouri, were found inside the house on Elm Street around 5:15 p.m Tuesday.
Neighbors say the couple who lived at the house are well-respected grandparents. After their son was killed several years ago in a car crash, they took in their teenage granddaughter.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Scott Meyer says at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a citizen went to the home to try to contact a resident there. The citizen saw something suspicious at the home and called police.
Cole Camp police arrived shortly thereafter, sealed off the area around the house and petitioned for a search warrant.
Investigators said Wednesday they would not release information on the victims’ cause of death or how long they had been deceased.
“Because it is a small town, the rumor mill runs fast and furious,” said Todd Kollbaum, minister of Trinity Lutheran Church.
So, when officers discovered the bodies in the small town about 115 miles east of Kansas City, most everyone came to see and grieve.
“It’s hard to do because I’ve know them all my life,” said Cole Camp resident Ervin Bugh.
The couple attended a nearby Lutheran Church. The town has seven churches for its 1,100 residents. Cole Camp is a close-knit community of faith, according to Kollbaum. He believes that will help them overcome their grief.
“We lean on one another because we do have close knit ties to one another as a community this size,” Kollbaum said. “We are able to lean on one another, cry on one another’s shoulders as well as lift one another up. So, that helps a lot.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Cole Camp Police Department at (660) 668-2321, the Benton County Sheriffs Department at (660) 438-5252, or the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Troop A Headquarters at (816) 622-0800.
