Michael Christopher Gales was 19 when he was found fatally injured on November 4, 2016, in Bel-Ridge, Missouri. Officers responded about 5:40 p.m. to the 4200 block of Springdale Avenue and discovered his car had rolled down a hill and crashed into an apartment complex. Gales was in the driver’s seat and had sustained at least one gunshot wound; first responders pronounced him dead at the scene and determined the crash was a secondary result of the shooting that incapacitated him while driving.

Police processed the scene and said early assessments suggested the shooting appeared to be drug-related, though motive details were not fully elaborated in initial reports. He was described by loved ones as a student and budding entrepreneur and was known to friends as Big Mike or Numba3. Detectives asked anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers.

If anyone saw activity on Springdale Avenue that afternoon or knew Michael’s movements that day, please share what you know with investigators.