Lewis Maurell Bartlett III, 37, was found dead along Hardman Fork Road near Mount Zion on the morning of July 23, 2016; his obituary lists his date of death as July 22, 2016. A Parkersburg resident who worked as a carpenter and owned LMB Flooring, Bartlett was the father of three children. Residents reported hearing four gunshots at about 8:30 p.m. on July 22, and his body was discovered the next morning just off the roadway near the Hughes property where related events had taken place.

Investigators tied Bartlett’s killing to a sequence of incidents that began with an alleged kidnapping of Joshua Darwin Shrader and a search for a missing Jeep belonging to Alisha Dawn Walker. Police say an unoccupied residence on the Hughes property was broken into and methamphetamine and cash were recovered; authorities say Bartlett separated from the group, was later stopped by a Wirt County deputy as a passenger, then returned to the Hardman Fork area. West Virginia State Police identified Alex Justin Dunn as the alleged shooter, saying Bartlett was shot four times with a small-caliber revolver.

Several defendants were charged and prosecutions were underway; some later entered pleas that changed the case’s original murder and related counts. Did anyone local know Bartlett or have information about his movements on the evening of July 22, 2016?