A West Plains man is accused of hindering law enforcement after deputies say he knowingly provided false information during the search for a fugitive earlier this month, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Howell County Sheriff’s Office.
Lieutenant Seth Smith wrote that deputies were searching for a man wanted on felony warrants on August 7, after receiving a report that the suspect had run out of gas on County Road 3490. Deputies located an unoccupied red SUV registered to Russell Allan Killion, who was found walking nearby and denied knowing the fugitive’s whereabouts. “Killion denied having any knowledge of the whereabouts of the wanted person, and advised that he was alone,” the statement reads.
Deputies set a perimeter around a brushy field where they believed the fugitive was hiding. While a drone searched the area, Killion returned on a four‑wheeler, fueled his vehicle, and left. Shortly afterward, dispatch received an anonymous call claiming the fugitive was playing slot machines at a gas station in Pomona. Smith noted the tip seemed unlikely and appeared intended to divert deputies. “I found it unlikely that this was a legitimate tip… an attempt to remove Law Enforcement from the immediate area,” he wrote.
The fugitive later surrendered and was found hiding only feet from where deputies had first encountered Killion.
Back at the sheriff’s office, Smith reviewed the anonymous call and traced the phone number to Killion. When Smith called the number, the man who answered laughed and acknowledged making the call. “I called and told ya,” the statement quotes Killion as saying.
Smith concluded that Killion knowingly attempted to hinder the arrest of a person wanted for felony warrants. Prosecutors have charged him with hindering prosecution of a felony under Missouri statute 575.030.
The case was electronically filed on August 11, 2026.
