OTR trucker accused of four murders found dead in South Dakota from self-inflicted gunshot wound

An over the road truck driver from Missouri who has been the subject of a weeks-long manhunt was found dead late last night in a parking lot in South Dakota.

On Thursday morning, the Union County Sheriff’s Office located in South Dakota announced that the body of J.T. McLean, 45, had been discovered in a vehicle at a motel near Dakota Dunes on Wednesday night.

After attempting to make contact with McLean in the vehicle in the lot and receiving no response, police deployed a drone and discovered that McLean was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The vehicle he was in is believed to have been stolen from one of his victims.

ON STAR was used to help police locate the vehicle.

McLean had family members in the Dakota Dunes area.

McLean was wanted on two counts of first-degree murder in the death of girlfriend Allison Abitz, 43, and her daughter Jozee Abitz, 11 in Columbia, Missouri, on Aug. 22. He was also wanted in two other homicides in Miller County.

The charges were issued after a concerned citizen called police around 11 p.m. on August 22 after being unable to get in touch with Allison Abitz and Jozee Abitz.

When police arrived at the residence, located in the 7500 block of Lavender Drive south of Columbia, Missouri, both Allison and Jozee Abitz were found deceased.

Police learned that McLean was in a long-term relationship with Allison Abitz and that he was the last person who had been in contact with the two victims.

“During the investigation, probable cause was developed to believe that McLean murdered Allison and Jozee. Currently, the motive for the murder of these victims is unknown,” the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said.