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48 Hours revisits the unresolved disappearance of Jermain Charlo this weekend in Where is Jermain Charlo?. The episode airs Saturday, June 7 at 10 pm ET / 9 pm CT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
Jermain Charlo, a 23-year-old member of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, vanished after leaving The Badlander bar in downtown Missoula shortly after midnight on June 16, 2018.
Surveillance footage shows Charlo walking into an alley with ex-boyfriend Michael DeFrance, the last confirmed person to see her, as per a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025.
Cell-tower data later placed Jermain Charlo’s phone on Evaro Hill near DeFrance's family property before the handset was discarded in Idaho, according to a Justice.gov press release dated August 2, 2021.
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DeFrance was convicted of firearm violations in 2023, but the Ninth Circuit vacated the sentence on December 30, 2024, as per the NBC Montana report dated January 3, 2025. Montana authorities now treat the case as a no-body homicide and continue to seek new leads.
Near midnight, the bar was the final place anyone saw Jermain Charlo
Security video released to 48 Hours captures Jermain Charlo leaving the Badlander alley just before 12 am on June 16 2018 with ex-partner Michael DeFrance, the father of her two sons, in step behind her, the final confirmed images of the 23-year-old tribal member before she vanished as per CBS News report dated June 4 2025.
Detectives later learned the pair drove off in DeFrance's pickup. His first statement placed the drop-off outside Orange Street Food Farm. DeFrance later revised his story, saying that he dropped her eight blocks west so she could meet an unverified friend called Cassidy.
DeFrance has not been charged in connection with Jermain Charlo's disappearance, yet police still list him as the last known witness.
Cell-tower pings and an unanswered phone
Hours after the Badlander footage, Charlo's phone registered repeated hits on an Evaro Hill tower 14 miles north of Missoula between 2 am and 10 am. Investigators asked DeFrance why the handset left town.
According to a CBS News report dated June 4, 2025, in a later interview, he conceded the device was with him. Speaking to 48 Hours, Missoula County Deputy Attorney Brittany Williams said:
"In a subsequent interview, [DeFrance] provided a statement that she left her cellphone and he attempted to go through her cellphone and he was unable to get into her cellphone."
The phone was never recovered. Lead detective Guy Baker, who is "very much committed to finding" Jermain Charlo, told 48 Hours that:
"I'm very much committed to finding her... I wanna bring justice to Jermain and hold accountable who's responsible."
Search teams backed by The Lifeguard Group, tribal volunteers, and cadaver dogs have combed Evaro Hill and surrounding terrain repeatedly, but no trace of Jermain Charlo has surfaced.
As cited in the CBS News report dated June 4, 2025, her aunt Valenda Morigeau explained the family’s persistence:
"We will no longer be silent about our women going missing… We have to fight for justice for our loved ones."
Legal twists and the status of Michael DeFrance
Separate firearms allegations against DeFrance have added complexity. Federal agents seized several guns from his Evaro Hill residence in October 2018, citing a 2013 misdemeanor partner-family-member-assault conviction involving Charlo that barred him from possessing weapons.
He pleaded not guilty on August 2, 2021, and was released under supervision. Judge Dana Christensen convicted DeFrance on four gun-related charges after a two-day federal trial in April 2023, per the Daily Montanan report dated May 2, 2023.
He received a 21-month sentence, but on December 30, 2024, the Ninth Circuit vacated the conviction, ruling the state assault statute did not meet the federal definition of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The case is now back in district court, leaving DeFrance under the original bond while prosecutors weigh a narrower retrial.
As 48 Hours airs its encore episode on June 7 at 10 pm ET/9 pm CT, detectives say the investigation is treated as a no-body homicide. They urge anyone with information about Jermain Charlo’s movements after she left the Badlander to contact Missoula Police. Each new lead, they stress, could be the break that finally explains the six-year mystery.
Stay tuned for more updates.
