NORTH COAST, Calif. – Authorities in Humboldt County are searching for a Lake County man and a teenage female who they say shot two homeless men with a crossbow, killing one of them.
Phoenix Triton King, 20, is being sought in connection to the Sunday murder and attempted murder, according to a Monday report from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.
A 16-year-old girl traveling with King also has been named as a suspect in the case. Because of her age, officials have not released her name.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the arrest of both for murder and attempted murder.
King and the girl are to be considered dangerous and potentially armed, according to Humboldt County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Morey.
Morey said that at 12:32 p.m. Sunday the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a 911 call of a possible injured man lying on the southbound shoulder of Highway 255, approximately 100 yards north of the intersection with New Navy Base Road in Eureka.
While deputies were responding, a second person called the sheriff’s office to report the injured male appeared to have been shot twice with an arrow and there were two people fleeing the area on bicycles, possibly suspects or involved with this incident, Morey said.
One witness attempted to detain these individuals, at which point the suspects abandoned their bicycles and fled into a heavily wooded area on the west side of the road, according to Morey's report.
Morey said deputies arrived in the area around 12:39 p.m. and located a 41-year-old male victim who had suffered three injuries that would later be determined to be from a crossbow.
The victim had a grazing scalp wound, an arrow to the hip and an injury on his shin from a glancing arrow injury. Morey said the victim was transported to an area hospital where he was treated and released for his injuries.
Deputies then located a second victim, a 44-year-old male who was deceased, approximately 200 yards west and into the wooded area from where the first victim was located. Morey said the second victim suffered a single arrow to the face.
Morey said Monday that the names of both victims were being withheld.
An extensive manhunt was undertaken in the heavily wooded and coastal area for the two suspects, Morey said.
Assisting was a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol, wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Arcata Police Department officers and one of their K9s, Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies and Sheriff’s Office Special Services including ATVs for searching the beach, and rangers from the Bureau of Land Management, he said.
Morey said the search was called off at approximately 11:45 p.m. Sunday.
Detectives from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office have been assigned to this investigation, he said.
The motive for the shootings, according to the investigation so far, is the suspects' belief that the victims may have stolen items from their transient camp.
He said the victims are homeless and have been occupying an encampment for the last several months.
It appears that King and the girl are newly arrived to the area and had a crude encampment, which a search warrant was sought for and served on, Morey said.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the assistance of the public for any information on the suspects.
King is described as a white male with short blond hair, blue eyes and black heavy framed glasses. He's 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.
The female is described as having black or dark skin, shoulder-length dark brown hair described as frizzy in texture that she often wears in a bun, with brown eyes. She is 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds.
King, who formerly lived in Clearlake, has previous arrests in Lake County for drugs and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Lake County Jail records.
Anyone who believes they have seen these individuals is encouraged to not approach them but to call 911 with information.
Det. Jen Turner has been assigned as the lead investigator on this incident. Anyone with further information on this case is asked to call her at 707-268-3642.