UPDATE at 5:00 p.m. CST on Jan. 9, 2025: New Lisbon Police confirm the details of Virgil Thew’s arrest. Around 11:51 a.m. on January 9, the Juneau County Communications Center got a call of a suspicipous person in the city of Elroy.
An officer made contact with the person, who was later identired as Thew. He was arrested without incident at 12:18 p.m.
UPDATE at 1:00 p.m. CST on Jan. 9, 2025: Virgil Thew, the suspect in a triple homicide in the New Lisbon area, has been apprehended in the City of Elroy by authorities after a search spanning several weeks, according to the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say there is no danger to the community.
UPDATE at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2025: The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office has received and is investigating 172 tips on the whereabouts of Virgil Thew. Law enforcement is requesting that the public report any concerns related to “outbuildings, seasonal residences, hunting blinds, and other structures that may require inspection”.
Thew is still on the run, and in still considered armed and dangerous.
UPDATE at 4:00 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2025: The FBI is now involved in the search for Virgil Thew.
Authorities believe Thew may have left the western Wisconsin area. His last confirmed location was near Orange Rd. and McEwen Rd. in Lisbon Township on Jan. 1.
Online court records show Thew faces three counts of first-degree intentional homicide, including one modifier of domestic abuse. Authorities say Thew’s girlfriend, 33-year-old Elizabeth Kolba was the adult found dead in a home on Monday, Dec. 30. The other victims were a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl.
UPDATE at 7:11 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2025: New Lisbon Police have identified 33-year-old Elizabeth Kolba as the adult victim.
Kolba and two juveniles were killed inside a home in New Lisbon on Monday. New Lisbon Police have not released the names of the juvenile victims, but did reveal their ages are 12 and 13.
UPDATE at 3:05 p.m. CST on Jan. 2, 2025: The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office shared a new photo of Thew on Thursday.
The photo was taken at a New Lisbon Dollar General on Sunday.
UPDATE at 9:50 a.m. CST on Dec. 31, 2024: The search for 47-year-old Virgil Thew, who is suspected of killing two juveniles and one adult in the City of New Lisbon, is underway. The New Lisbon Police Department has released a more complete timeline of their investigation into the murders.
Authorities say the Monroe Co. Sheriff’s Office contacted the Juneau Co. Sheriff’s Office at 10:09 p.m. CST on Dec. 29 for reports of a missing juvenile, who was picked up and last seen with Thew.
The following morning, New Lisbon Police launched its own investigation into the missing juvenile, learning that a second person was missing around 7:40 a.m. CST. With the cooperation of the missing juvenile’s parents and neighboring law agencies, they searched throughout the day and finally located the bodies of one adult and two juveniles in a home on the 300-block of W Bridge St. in New Lisbon.
Thew remains unaccounted for. He is listed at approximately 5-foot-10 and 150 lbs and was last seen wearing a dark down coat, blue jeans, and a hat. He is wanted by the Wisconsin Probation and Parole Division of the Department of Corrections (DOC).
If you have information to contribute, please call the New Lisbon Police Department at (608) 562-3333. If you see him, do not interact with Thew. Contact 911 immediately to report the sighting as he is considered armed and dangerous by law enforcement.
In addition to those listed above, other contributing agencies include the Mauston Police, Necedah Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol.
This is a developing news story. An update and/or follow-up will be issued as further details are revealed.
READ: State investigating after man found unresponsive in Madison police custody
NEW LISBON, Wis. — A suspect is on the loose after three people were found dead in a home Monday afternoon in the City of New Lisbon in west-central Wisconsin.
47-year-old Virgil G. Thew has been identified as a person of interest after three people were found dead in a residence on Monday, Dec 30 around 4:29 p.m.
Thew is described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches, weighing around 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored down coat and hat.
He is currently wanted through Wisconsin Probation and Parol. He is considered armed and dangerous, and should not be approached if seen.
Anyone with information should contact the New Lisbon Police Department. Police are expected to release more information later today.
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