On the morning of July 5, 2024, neighbors near Bogalusa, Louisiana, discovered 62-year-old Lark Starnes dead behind his home on South Choctaw Road. Investigators determined his death was not natural; he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Starnes was remembered by friends and family as a handyman who enjoyed fishing and working on his property and who readily helped others.

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office named 35-year-old Clois Clifton Blackledge III as a person of interest and searched for him after he was last seen riding a Honda motorcycle. That evening the motorcycle was found abandoned at Poole’s Bluff boat launch. On the morning of July 6, a Louisiana State Police drone team located a man matching Blackledge’s description walking near Highway 21 and Mitchell Road; deputies took him into custody without incident. He was questioned and then arrested on charges including second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.

Does anyone in the Bogalusa area have information about Starnes, his movements in early July, or sightings near Poole’s Bluff or Highway 21?