Suspect Tracked to Otter Tail County in Isadora Wengel Homicide Investigation

A GPS tracker placed on Joshua Alexander Hite's borrowed Ford Focus put the 21-year-old Fargo man in Otter Tail County repeatedly between Jan. 13 and Feb. 10, court documents show, as investigators hunted for evidence they believe he may have hidden in the county where he grew up.

Newly unsealed warrants in the investigation of Isadora Wengel's killing revealed several new details in the case, including that police were tracking Hite's movements via a GPS tracker in January and February, following a search of his apartment. Investigators applied for and received a search warrant to put the GPS tracker on a silver 2012 Ford Focus on Jan. 10 after the Subaru Impreza Hite had been driving was seized by investigators on Jan. 9 and Hite was transported to his brother's home in Horace, where his brother allowed him to use the Focus.

The warrants, unsealed in Cass County, show Hite took several trips to his native Otter Tail County, roughly 60 miles from Fargo, "during the middle of the night and other times of day." The warrant application stated that "Hite would have had access to any evidence he placed in Otter Tail County during this time and possibly moved evidence back to his residence" in south Fargo. Court documents specifically note that "Joshua has frequented the Fergus Falls, MN and Battle Lake, MN, area."

The application also noted Hite has a friend who lives in Underwood on a "26-acre family-run private scrap yard," which investigators searched Jan. 21 for Wengel's remains. On Jan. 22, investigators applied for another search warrant for a "tower dump" of cellphone records from four service providers at 37 different cellphone towers between Fargo and Otter Tail County, including several towns such as Erhard, Barnesville, Baker, Pelican Rapids, Clitherall, Underwood and Battle Lake.

Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said investigators believe Hite killed Wengel in "heinous and diabolical" fashion and "believe there may be some dismemberment involved." When detectives searched dumpsters near Hite's apartment on Jan. 8, they recovered a Sawzall blade, plastic sheeting, gauze, a bath mat and latex gloves. The North Dakota State Crime Laboratory and the University of North Dakota Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the items contained Wengel's blood and bone tissue.

The paper trail leading to those dumpsters began a day earlier. According to warrants filed by a Fargo Police detective, Hite ordered a Sawzall, plastic sheeting, heavy-duty trash bags and duct tape from Home Depot via DoorDash on the morning of Jan. 4, 2026, the same day investigators believe Wengel was killed. Digital forensics show that at 7:02 a.m. on Jan. 4, Hite Google searched "home depot Sawzall." By 10:30 a.m., the items had been delivered to his apartment. Court documents also revealed Hite searched that same day for "junk removal near me," "dumpster," and made multiple searches for "how to register for a legal alias."

When warrants were executed at his apartment, court documents show Hite was found to be wearing Carhartt bib overalls with red stains on the knee and thigh areas, which later tested positive for human blood. The overalls were also missing a shoulder strap, which was later located in the garbage along with blue latex gloves with blood stains and a roll of plastic sheeting.

Wengel, 25, was last seen on surveillance footage at a Fargo Walmart on Jan. 3, 2026, at 5:05 p.m. She was reported missing to the West Fargo Police Department on Jan. 7. Hite told investigators he dropped her off at her West Fargo residence at approximately 6 a.m. on Jan. 5, but surveillance footage from a nearby Kwik Star gas station and traffic cameras showed no passenger in his vehicle at that time.

Police confirmed that two black totes were delivered to Hite's apartment and only one was recovered during the Jan. 9 search warrant execution. The missing tote is believed to be somewhere between the Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead metro area or in Otter Tail County, including the Fergus Falls, Elizabeth, Underwood and Battle Lake areas. Fargo police said their primary focus remains locating the missing 27-gallon HDX black storage tote. Two community-led searches spanning from Fargo to Otter Tail County have not located either the tote or Wengel's body.

Judge Steven McCullough ordered Hite to undergo both a competency examination and a criminal responsibility examination at the North Dakota State Hospital. The competency exam will determine whether Hite is mentally fit to stand trial. The criminal responsibility exam will assess whether he lacked the capacity to understand the harmful nature of his alleged actions at the time of the crime. Defense attorneys filed a motion on March 23 to continue Hite's preliminary hearing, citing the ongoing mental health evaluations and the need to review a large volume of discovery materials. His Felony Dispositional Conference has been moved from April 30 to July 16, 2026.

The investigation has involved multiple law enforcement agencies including the Fargo Police Department, West Fargo Police Department, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Cass County Sheriff's Office, Moorhead Police Department and Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office. Anyone with information about the location of the tote or Wengel's remains is asked to contact law enforcement immediately.