LAMAR, Mo. —
Landon L. Ison never offered a reason for abruptly quitting his job as a Lamar police officer two months ago.
He moved out of the house he shared with his wife and two sons at the start of this month.
Then shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday, emergency responders were called to the troubled family’s home about a mile southwest of Lamar after Ison reportedly shot and killed his wife, Dana I. Ison, 33, and critically wounded her mother, Cheryl J. Thompson, 67.
Thompson left the home at 91 S.W. Fifth Lane and went to a neighbor’s house seeking help in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The neighbor called 911.
Barton County sheriff’s deputies and emergency medical technicians found Thompson still conscious outside the residence, and she was taken to Cox Medical Center South in Springfield with what was described as a life-threatening gunshot wound.
Dana Ison was discovered unresponsive inside the home, according to Sgt. Mike Watson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She also had been shot, he said. The couple’s two sons were unharmed, he said.
Watson said investigators quickly developed the 32-year-old estranged husband as the lone suspect and began looking for him. About 2:30 a.m., officers located his blue Ford Explorer along a road about four miles northwest of Lamar. The search for him ended in a nearby field.
Ison had taken his own life with a rifle that was recovered near his body, Watson said.
“I think it’s a terrible thing,” Lamar police Chief Ron Hager said in reaction to the murder-suicide at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Hager said Ison was a good officer in the more than nine years he served on the Lamar police force since being hired in January 2003. Before that, he had served as a dispatcher with the Barton County Sheriff’s Department.
The police chief said Ison never gave him a reason for quitting Aug. 7. He just chose not to come into work one day, he said.
Barton County Sheriff Mitchell Shaw said he asked the state patrol to serve as the lead investigative agency in the shootings “because of the close personal relationships we all had with Officer Ison.”
Barton County Circuit Court records show that Landon Ison filed for divorce in January. Court records indicate that Ison and his wife both submitted parenting plans to the court. But the record shows that the case was dismissed by both parties on July 11.
Shaw, who acknowledged being a close friend of the couple, said he did not necessarily know all that was going on in their relationship.
“Whenever I was around, they seemed to have a good relationship,” Shaw said. “I can’t tell you what’s been going on recently because I haven’t been right there with them.”
The sheriff said he was aware that his friend had quit his job with the Lamar police. He said Ison never told him why, and he chose not to force the issue by asking. Everyone in the community regarded the Isons as “hard-working people,” he said.
Dana Ison worked for AOK Youth Development Services. Kathy Jenkins, president of AOK’s board of directors, released a statement praising her contributions as a social worker and school-age program coordinator.
“She loved the children and they loved her,” the statement read. “She was passionate about making a difference in their lives and she did. Words cannot express our sorrow at her passing.”
Watson declined to discuss details about how many times each woman was shot or the sequence of events inside the house that resulted in the shootings. He also declined to comment on whether the rifle discovered with Landon Ison’s body is believed to have been the weapon used in the shootings of his wife and mother-in-law. He said such details remain under investigation.
He also declined to comment on whether the couple’s two boys witnessed the shootings.
Separation
FORMER POLICE OFFICER LANDON ISON moved out of his family’s home Oct. 1 and had been living at an address in Lamar before Tuesday’s murder-suicide, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
THE LAMAR POLICE CHIEF and the Barton County sheriff said there have been no previous reports of domestic violence involving Ison and his wife.
Crime & Courts
Related Photos
-
A modest home on Tuesday belies the murder-suicide and additional shooting at the former address of a former Lamar police officer, Landon Ison. GLOBE | JEFF LEHR
Discussion
Former Lamar officer kills wife, wounds mother-in-law; ex-policeman takes own life
- Crime & Courts
-
-
Arma mother facing murder charge in sleeping baby’s death
Heather Buckalew fell asleep on a couch with her 4-month-old baby after a night last summer drinking beer with her boyfriend. The boyfriend, Donald Harvey, got up to go to work a few hours later and spotted his son, lying face down on a pillow between the back of the couch and his sleeping mother.
-
Vandals cause $37,000 in damage at Joplin business
A Joplin business owner was the victim of a weekend vandalism spree that resulted in an estimated $37,000 in damages and theft, in addition to putting the company out of service for at least two days.
-
Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
-
Firefighters douse blaze inside wall; no injuries cited
The Joplin Fire Department used thermal-imaging equipment Wednesday night to detect a hidden fire inside a residence.
-
Exeter resident hurt in accident in Barry County
An Exeter resident was injured in a single-vehicle accident at 2:15 p.m. Thursday on Missouri Highway 76, two miles west of Exeter in Barry County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
-
Pittsburg couple arrested; children taken out of home
PITTSBURG, Kan. — A Pittsburg couple was arrested and their three children removed from their care Wednesday when narcotics officers allegedly seized marijuana, methamphetamine and other items in a search of their home.
-
Joplin man arrested on felony charge of past sexual abuse
A 16-year-old girl’s recent disclosures to her mother regarding past sexual abuse has led to the arrest and charging of a Joplin man.
-
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Kurt Millard spent most of last weekend in the Jasper County Jail, locked up on another man’s arrest warrant. The 26-year-old Joplin resident could not convince his jailers they had the wrong guy. “I got the run-around the whole weekend,” Millard told the Globe. “I didn’t even get to wish my mother a happy Mother’s Day.”
-
Attorney general files suit against California contractor
Attorney General Chris Koster on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a California man, alleging he failed to provide construction materials and home repair services that had been paid for by victims of the Joplin tornado.
-
Pierce City man hurt in accident in Barry County
A Pierce City man was injured in a single-vehicle accident at 7 a.m. Wednesday on Missouri Highway 248, two miles west of Jenkins in Barry County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
- More Crime & Courts Headlines
-
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
