A manhunt is underway for 32-year-old Michelle J. Zajko, who is suspected of buying the handguns used in the killing of a Vermont Border Patrol agent last week. Zajko is considered “armed and dangerous” and law enforcement agencies in several states are searching for her.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland was gunned down near the Canada-Vermont border on January 20, and four days later, Teresa Youngblut, 21, was taken into custody and charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer. Maland was shot and killed during a traffic stop of Youngblut between Newport and Orleans, Vermont. Her passenger, Felix Bauckholt, was also armed but was fatally shot by federal agents after Youngblut opened fire.
According to court documents, Zajko allegedly bought.40-caliber and.380-caliber handguns in February 2024 in Mount Tabor, Vermont, that were used in Maland’s shooting. Zajko is also considered a “person of interest” in a double murder in Pennsylvania and another murder in California, but prosecutors did not name her.
Maland, a Minnesota native and U.S. Air Force veteran, worked as a Border Patrol agent at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station. He spent nine years in the military and 15 working for the federal government.
