The Great Falls woman told her family at 10:25 p.m. Tuesday that “a large man in a black hoodie” hit her on the head and put her into a trunk of a vehicle at a rest stop near Wolf Creek on Tuesday morning.
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The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded Maze died of the single gunshot wound, but said further investigation was needed to determine whether the death was a homicide. They used technology to track her phone and found her vehicle in a trucking company’s parking lot.
An officer who called Maze’s cellphone after Maze contacted her family said someone answered the phone and the officer heard gunshots, then silence, court records said.
“She traveled with a gun, and she knew he had her gun, and she was terrified”, Maze said. Authorities believe Maze was killed in Spokane, but cause of death has not yet been released by the Spokane County coroner.
In a series of phone calls with police and family members on Tuesday, Maze described a man hitting her on the head and forcing her into the trunk of her 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix at a rest stop in Wolf Creek, Mont.
Rochelle Maze said her mother told her that she was overpowered by a “massive guy” who was 6 feet, 5 inches tall and wearing a black hoodie.
Spokane officers said in a statement that they found Maze’s body around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Bob and Rochelle Maze had police on another line as they talked to Rita Maze, trying to get enough information from her so she could be found. Investigators recovered Haze’s auto around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
When questioned Thursday regarding whether the public should be questioning the official version of events relayed by Montana woman Rita Maze to her terrified family on Tuesday night, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich responded, “Yes, you should”.
“My mom was always a playful mom”, Rochelle said. She tells him she doesn’t know where she’s at. She also said her mother’s credit card was used twice in the time she was missing.
In her final moments, desperate to survive, the elementary-school cook called her family in Great Falls, Montana, and tried to relay as much information as she could about what happened, relatives said.
The car’s license plate was captured automatically near Post Falls, Idaho.
Deputies say they have identified a person of interest, but are still awaiting confirmation.
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“She, one, had such a positive presence”, said Bill Salonen, former principal at Morningside.
