What Happened to Jermain Charlo? Montana Mother Vanished in 2018

Six years and three months ago, an Indigenous woman vanished from western Montana, leaving behind only unanswered questions and a community still searching for closure.

The Missoula police department said Jermain Charlo, then 23, was last seen in the early hours of June 16, 2018. She disappeared between midnight and 1 a.m. while downtown near Orange Street and S. 5th Street.

Witnesses last saw her wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt with a brown Under Armour sweater over it and cowboy boots.

The search is still on for the missing woman.

Newsweek spoke with Jen Murphy, a Montana educator raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW).

MMIW is a movement advocating for awareness and justice regarding the disproportionate rates of violence, disappearance, and murder faced by Indigenous women in Canada and the United States.

The movement aims to highlight systemic issues, such as inadequate law enforcement responses, societal neglect and the broader context of colonialism contributing to this crisis. Activists work to raise awareness, push for policy changes, and support affected families and communities.

Murphy said, along with her efforts, a nonprofit group called Lifeguard Group has been assisting in finding Charlo, but she believes law enforcement could do more.

“There has never been a coordinated effort, involving the National Guard, to search the area where we believe she could possibly be. It’s frustrating to see this because we’re not asking for special treatment; we’re asking for the same treatment.”

Murphy emphasizes she is not asking for Indigenous lives to be prioritized over others; instead, she said searches for Indigenous individuals often lack the same urgency.

The CBS program 48 Hours will air a special on Charlo’s disappearance, titled “Where Is Jermain Charlo?”, scheduled for broadcast on October 12. Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS Saturday Morning and contributor to 48 Hours, will report on the disappearance.

A never-before-seen video was released by police from the night Charlo disappeared, shared exclusively with 48 Hours. Detective Guy Baker of the Missoula Police, who is spearheading the search for Charlo, said the security camera footage provides her last known whereabouts before she disappeared.

Murphy expressed her hope the special will raise awareness and bring justice for Charlo.

“I think it’ll definitely shine a light, and I hope that it produces answers,” Murphy said. “We want answers for this family. We want answers for Jermaine. We’re tired of not having the answers.”

The Context

“On the evening of June 15, Jermain was downtown Missoula socializing at some bars, and she was last known to be alive in the alley behind one of the bars,” Baker said in 48 Hour preview.

The video shows Charlo walking down the street with a man following behind her. In the next clip, Charlo is outside a local bar called The Badlander, with the same man standing behind her. Just before midnight, they leave the area together and vanish into the night.

The man has been identified as Michael DeFrance, Charlo’s ex and the father of her two children. DeFrance told investigators Charlo left her phone in his car, which he subsequently disposed of.

DeFrance has not been named a suspect.

According to CBS News, DeFrance claims he dropped Charlo off around 1 a.m. near a food market in downtown Missoula, where she said she was going to meet a friend named Cassidy. However, the source said investigators have not found anyone by the name and discovered Charlo often visited Missoula to see Jacob, a man she had recently started dating.

While Jacob was out of state that weekend, he attempted to call Charlo shortly before 1 a.m. He found it strange the call rang several times before going to voicemail, leading him to believe someone had intentionally ended the call. Phone records confirmed someone silenced the call.

Jacob also told police the day before Charlo disappeared, DeFrance yelled at her, questioned her dating life, and expressed a desire to get back together. Authorities said Jacob cooperated with the investigation and never became a suspect.

On the morning of her disappearance, Charlo’s phone pinged between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. in an area known as Evaro Hill, approximately 14 miles from downtown Missoula on the Flathead Reservation.

Newsweek reached out to Detective Baker for additional details regarding DeFrance.

Who is Jermain Charlo?

Charlo, now 29, is an American Indian from Missoula, Montana, and a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation.

Newsweek reached out to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, however, they have not yet responded.

According to the Associated Press, Valenda Morigeau, Charlo’s aunt, reported her missing to the police department in the days following her disappearance. Morigeau said the detective initially assigned to the case did not take the report seriously and was slow to respond, a pattern she believes is common when Native Americans report missing loved ones.

Murphy, who is close to Charlo’s aunt, told Newsweek the pain never lessens and she simply wants answers.

“It’s so sad and disheartening to watch her cry and scream at random times,” Murphy said. “For her, this happens every single day, over and over, because there are still no answers.”

In 2018, an AP investigation found 633 Indigenous women made up 0.7 percent of open missing persons cases despite being 0.4 percent of the U.S. population.

The situation is especially alarming in states such as Montana, which have large Native American populations. Native Americans make up less than 7 percent of Montana’s population but account for 25 percent of reported missing person cases.

The police department said via social media they remain committed to seeking justice for Charlo and bringing closure to her family.

“She’s a missing woman and she deserves our time and effort to try and find out what happened to her,” Baker said.

Anyone who has seen Charlo is urged to call 911. If you have any information, please call Detective Baker at 406-552-6284.

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