Red Lake Man Charged With Second-Degree Murder

Michael Wayne Whitefeather

An 18-year-old Red Lake man is charged with second-degree murder. Michael Wayne Whitefeather made his initial appearance Thursday before Judge Huseby today in US District Court in Bemidji.

According to the complaint and law enforcement affidavit, on April 28th following a 911 call, investigators found the body of a male victim on a trail near the intersection of Highway 1 and Pike Creek on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The subsequent autopsy indicated that the victim died of a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators located three spent yellow shotgun shells, with two being found near the victim’s body and the third found in a nearby field.

On May 2nd, investigators located and arrested Whitefeather in Bemidji. During a post-Miranda interview, Whitefeather admitted to possessing a pump-action shotgun and three yellow shotgun shells and to shooting the victim in the head with the shotgun.

The FBI is still seeking individuals involved in this matter. If you have any information about their whereabouts, you are asked to call the FBI at 763-569-8000.