Authorities seek help locating suspect in rural Maricopa County murder

PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help locating the suspect in a fatal shooting over the weekend in a small community in the northwest part of the county.

Detectives believe Israel Vargas-Alvarez shot and killed a man in rural Whispering Ranch, about 30 miles west of Surprise, on Sunday night, according to an MCSO press release.

Vargas-Alvarez, 40, is about 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, the release said.

The victim called 911 at around 6:30 p.m. to report he’d been shot on his property. Deputies found him with multiple gunshot wounds, and he died before paramedics could respond.

He was later identified as 27-year-old Jhonathan Calderon.

Anybody with information about the case was asked to call the MCSO at 602-876-1011 or 602-876-TIPS (8477).

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