A Fredonia man was shot and killed Sunday night in an incident in Coyville in far northwest Wilson County.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a Monday statement that just after 7 PM Sunday, Wilson County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 2100 block of 2nd Street in Coyville on the report of gunfire.
On arrival, 37-year-old Lucas Pickell of Fredonia was found just outside a 5th wheel RV. Pickell died at the scene. Preliminary information indicated he had been using drugs with three other people in the RV, during which Pickell was shot by one of them.
That man, 52-year-old William “Bud” Wescott of Coyville, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of second-degree murder and booked into the Wilson County Jail.
Tied to this case, the KBI has issued an endangered persons advisory for a now 17-year-old female who disappeared from Wichita in July 2025. Alexandra Smith was a witness to this crime, and authorities are concerned for her safety. Smith is a white female, about 5 foot and 3 inches tall and 105 pounds with black hair and blue eyes. She may be in the Fredonia or Neodesha area.
If you know where she is, call 911 or the KBI at 800-KS-CRIME.
