The search continues a decade later for murder suspect Joe Constance

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - A decade has passed and the question still remains - where is Joe Constance? The only trace that remains is through a search on the internet where he is on the FBI’s “Violent Offenders” page.

“He’s a cold-blooded killer, simple as that,” Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said in a 2013 interview.

An early June morning in 2011 marked the beginning of the manhunt for the murder suspect. It was then when the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says Constance cornered his estranged wife in her home on Rustic View Drive.

“He ended up shooting his way into the house and murdering her,” Calcasieu Sheriff Lieutenant Les Blanchard said in a 2014 interview.

10 years later and neighbors claim they still remember the morning when 49-year-old Mary Duhon was killed.

“Oh, I remember everything,” a neighbor, Jeanie Gates said. “I was living here but a different trailer, and I heard three shots. I was from L.A., so I was used to hearing gunshots. But we saw people running, and we just thought it was somebody playing with a gun.”

“Apparently, after the incident, he fled the scene in his pickup truck,” Chief Deputy Stitch Guillory said in a 2011 interview.

It was hoped the case would reach millions by being featured on the TV show America’s Most Wanted. Authorities have been waiting years for a slip up on his end, but Constance has managed to evade law enforcement - staying below the radar for far too long - a concerning thought for people who knew him.

“It just bothered me you know, because it’s just scary when women can get murdered in their place,” Gates said.

“We’ve pulled out all of the stops,” Sheriff Mancuso said in a 2014 interview. “We have done everything that we possibly can and used every resource that we can to try to come up with Joe Constance. And we have not been able to yet. There’s no telling where he could be at this time.”

Not knowing where he could be or who could be aiding and abetting him, the Sheriff’s Office has searched by aircraft and boats in the marshy swamps and wooded areas of Cameron Parish. They even broadened the manhunt from Canada to Mexico.

In the ten years since Constance’s disappearance, the rumors still run wild. And the people who knew him say he’s long gone.

The FBI is still offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. If you know any information, contact your local FBI office.

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