The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force are now offering up to $5,000 as a reward for information leading to the arrest of Kaitlin Armstrong, who is still wanted for the murder of gravel rider Moriah Wilson.
The investigation has also been upgraded to "major case status".
Police state Armstrong was last seen in New Jersey on May 18 - the day after Austin police obtained a warrant for her arrest - after being dropped off at the Newark Liberty International Airport. No outbound flight reservations were made under the name Kaitlin Armstrong, with investigations now focussing on false names she might have used.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla revealed the $5,000 reward on Monday "for anybody who can generate a tip that leads to her whereabouts."
Filla also said authorities have interviewed several witnesses on the East Coast as the search for Armstrong continues.
U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas, Susan Pamerleau, said: “Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of a very serious crime that she needs to answer for. The best thing she can do at this point, wherever she is, is surrender to authorities, so she can return safely to Austin and answer the charges against her.
“She needs to know the Marshals are not going to stop looking for her.”
On Wednesday, May 11, the Austin Police Department responded to a late call of a young woman found dead with gunshot wounds inside a friend’s home, with cyclist Moriah Wilson later identified as the victim. An affidavit made by Wilson's friend, with whom she was staying ahead of the Gravel Locos, states that Wilson was shot several times with a 9mm handgun.
The police then named fellow cyclist and partner of Red Bull athlete Colin Strickland, Kaitlin Armstrong, as being wanted for first-degree murder felony charges. Details of what is alleged to have occurred between the cyclists and the night of the murder have emerged throughout the last weeks, with a possible love triangle seemingly a motive for the alleged murder.
Armstrong allegedly flew from Austin to Houston and then New York’s LaGuardia Airport on May 14, four days before she was last seen in New Jersey. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Marshals at 1-800-336-0102 or Capital Area Crime Stoppers at 1-800-893-8477.
Since her murder, Moriah's family has launched a GoFundMe page in memory of the 25-year-old, with further tributes pouring in from across the cycling community.
