UPDATE: Triple-homicide victims north of West Salem all men in late 20s

TRIPLE-HOMICIDE UPDATE — 9 p.m.

The three bodies found dead at the entrance to a quarry just north of West Salem all have a connection to, or have resided in La Crosse.

The county sheriff’s office said all three are men, believed to be in their late 20s. One is white and the other two are Asian, a statement said.

What their relationship is to each other is not yet known.

No names will be released until they are positively identified and their next of kin are notified.

Autopsies are scheduled for Saturday morning in Rochester, Minn.

Check WIZMNews.com around 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for more updates.

ORIGINAL STORY

A triple homicide in the Town of Hamilton.

The La Crosse County’s Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 4:57 a.m. Friday that three bodies had been found at the entrance to the Milestone Quarry — sometimes referred to as the Romskog quarry — on County M, just north of West Salem.

“At 4:57 a.m., two employees of Milestone Materials arrived for work and upon arriving for work they discovered bodies directly outside the gate, at the entrance to the quarry,” La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf said.

“We are currently processing the scene as a triple homicide,” Wolf added. “We believe at this time it was a targeted act. We do not know the reason for the homicide. There were no vehicles found at the scene. Strictly three individuals found deceased.”

Wolf said it is a “complicated” crime scene and trying to figure out what may have occurred. He said nobody was in custody and had “nothing to reveal right now,” on leads. He also was not aware of any secondary crime scenes.

“We have reason to believe that it was a targeted event,” Wolf said. “It wasn’t a random act. For whatever reason it occurred at this location for a specific reason.

“We are getting information to what may have occurred. We are trying to identify who the individuals are — the victims — which we are hoping will lead us to potential suspects.”

Wolf said they believe the three were killed overnight in the “hours of darkness.” He could not reveal any details how they died.

Wolf has asked to contact the sheriff’s office if anyone has security camera footage where they can identify vehicles between late Thursday afternoon through 5 a.m. Friday. Wolf said they would like to see footage on County M from the Village of West Salem to the north, or residence on County S from the city of Onalaska near Cedar Creek Golf Course to the top of the ridge at Counties M and S.

Wolf added, he didn’t think there was reason for concern to those living in the area.

Wolf said authorities are processing the scene and that there’s a great amount of evidence. He added that autopsies would be performed on the bodies in Rochester, Minn., soon.

WIZM should have updates by 8 p.m. Friday and again by 3 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

County M, County S in the area near N6290 County M, in the town of Hamilton will be closed
until 5 p.m. Friday most likely.