BOISE, Idaho — On Dec. 17, 2014, two masked gunman entered a Jacksons Food Store in Notus and shot and killed 25-year-old Christopher Reese, who was working as a clerk.
The two suspects are still at-large. Eight years after the murder, the case remains open, and the Canyon County Sheriff's Office continues their search for the perpetrators.
"We're not letting up on the gas on this thing, we're going to continue because that victim deserves it, his family deserves it and our communities deserve it," Sheriff Kieran Donahue said.
Donahue said the sheriff's office has taken in over 1,000 tips on the case, and new tips continue to come in.
"Has there been an identifiable suspect that we're gonna throw out to the news? No," Donahue said. "Are there people of interest that we're still continuing to explore? Yes."
The amount of time since the crime does not mean the case is closed - or even cold. Donahue believes the case will someday be solved.
"We really think it's important to keep this in front of our citizens, and especially for the victim, the victim's family and quite frankly, the community," Donahue said. "This was a very heinous crime. It was a horrific homicide and a completely innocent man. That family's life was changed forever and this is something that we'll never give up on. This is something that's on our table every day."
The Canyon County Sheriff's Office has been enlisting help from the FBI and other labs throughout the country since the case began.
After shooting Reese, the two suspects used a handcart to remove a safe from behind the counter before stealing Reese's vehicle from the parking lot.
Both the safe and the vehicle were recovered a few hours after the murder. Donahue said advancements in forensics could be the key to finding the suspects.
"There's the physical side to this investigation that we continue to work on. I think that's really important for people to understand that it's not like watching a television show - we can't solve this stuff overnight," Donahue said. "But this is about forensics, this is about medical science, technology that continues to be developed and continues to be advanced. We're taking advantage of those advancements, and we're going to continue to do so because we know that it's helping us guide this case and and getting the closure on this case."
Both suspects are believed to be male. The first suspect was carrying an assault rifle, dressed in a camouflaged jacket and gray hoodie. He is approximately 6-foot, with a medium to thick build.
The second suspect was seen with a handgun holstered on his side, wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt. He is approximately 5-foot-10 with a medium to thick build.
Both men were wearing masks and brown military-style boots. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of others being involved in the homicide.
The Canyon County Sheriff's Office is always looking for tips on the case. Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff's office at 208-454-7531, or Crime Stoppers at 208-343-COPS.
"As communities, we just have to be vigilant. We are in a society that unfortunately, violent crime is increasing, heinous crimes are increasing - as we've seen in Moscow and other places," Donahue said. "I think as a community, we just need to watch out for each other. There's bad people out there, they exist, and we need to be on guard. We shouldn't have to live in fear, we don't want to live in fear, but the same time, people need to be vigilant, you need to watch out for each other."
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