Body believed to be Kansas City roadway shooting suspect found in basement

Police found a body in the basement of a Kansas City-area home after the family returned to clean up from a fire and smelled a strong odor coming from below. The basement was flooded, cluttered with debris and had a partially collapsed stairway, conditions that kept the 22-year-old from being found during earlier searches.

The discovery ended a search that stretched across Kansas City, Missouri, Independence, Missouri, and nearby Kansas City, Kansas after a June 16 shooting spree on Interstate 70 and Interstate 670. The attacks unfolded over about 30 minutes, from roughly 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and involved five separate shootings that left one person dead and four others injured. One of the victims was an Uber driver taking Argentina fans to a World Cup match at Arrowhead Stadium. Police said the violence was not otherwise linked to the tournament.

Kansas City police identified Sanchez-Munoz as the suspect in the shootings and said he was also wanted on a separate June 11 Wyandotte County warrant tied to another shooting investigation. The FBI had offered up to $25,000 for information leading to his arrest.

The search intensified after officers traced him to homes in Independence and near 16th Street and Kensington Avenue. A standoff at the Independence house ended after a fire caused major damage, and five dogs died in the blaze. The body was later found in the basement of a different home that had already been searched. Detectives traced him and his residence through the June 11 investigation, and the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office was confirming the body’s identity.