LAKEPORT — According to a press release from the Lakeport Police Department, headway is being made on the unsolved murder case of Barbara Gaye LaForge. On Oct. 8, 2002, LaForge, 43, of Kelseyville was brutally murdered inside her business, Wildwood Frame Shop and Inspirations Gallery on Main St. in Lakeport.
Over the past five years the Lakeport Police Department along with the assistance of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Lake County District Attorney”s Office, the California Department of Justice and investigators from other agencies and organizations have continued to investigate the case.
In early Oct., the Lakeport Police Department and the Lake County District Attorney”s Office Criminal Investigation Division officially created a multi-agency task force to aggressively investigate the case. There are currently nine investigators and one Secretary assigned to the task force. All of the assigned personnel are very dedicated and committed to this investigation, according to a press release written by Chief of Police Kevin Burke.
In a very short time, the focused efforts of this task force have already produced results in that investigators are following up on several new leads which will include forensic examination of additional items of evidence. Investigators believe that current forensic technology will have a valuable role in these examinations.
“We are committed to using every available resource to investigate this case,” the LPD said in a press release. “The department is confident that the task force will bring this case to a successful conclusion.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Lakeport Police Department at (707) 263-5491 or by email at laforgehomicide@lakeportpolice.org
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
