Woman Fatally Wounded While Attempting To Flee Boat Launch – Police Discovered Her Ex In the Woods With A Gun

A man from Minnesota has been charged of killing his ex-girlfriend at a boat launch and then trying to flee by scaling a tree.

In relation to the death of Melissa Hunt, age 36, Craig Alan Hameister, 44, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

A criminal complaint that PEOPLE was able to receive states that on June 18, shortly before 5 p.m., Wabash County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in Kellogg after a lady, identified as Hunt, pulled into the driveway of the house with “significant facial injuries.”

According to the complaint, when deputies arrived on the scene, they saw facial injuries, including damage to a number of her teeth and a section of her jaw.

Hunt allegedly told authorities that at a new boat launch in Kellogg, Hameister struck her with a stick. After being taken to a nearby hospital, she passed away from her wounds a little more than an hour later.

The complaint claims that because it had “rained heavily at the time of the search,” deputies who visited the boat launch failed to find any evidence that the area was a crime scene.

A live 9-millimeter round was discovered on the floor of Hameister’s pickup when deputies arrived at a residence outside of Chatfield. A witness allegedly informed law enforcement that Hameister showed up to the property and was “frantic” and said, “something awful happened” before he took off on a motorcycle.

After an alleged hours-long standoff in the Chester Woods region, during which he climbed a tree to avoid capture, Hameister was eventually captured. A 9-millimeter handgun was purportedly discovered by police at the base of the tree.

According to the complaint, an investigator who was present at Hunt’s autopsy noted “that the victim’s facial wound has gunshot residue embedded in the wound.”

The bail amount for Hameister is $2 million. He has yet to make a plea, and his attorney declined to comment about the matter.

On July 3, he is expected to appear in court again.