Police: Auditor killed by agent she was investigating

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The owner of a SouthEnd insurance agency has been charged with the murder of a Raleigh insurance auditor who was investigating him.

Police have accused Michael Arthur Howell, 40, of the murder of Sallie Rohrback, 44. Her body has not yet been found.

Sallie Rohrbach was last seen Wednesday at Dilworth Insurance on South Boulevard, where she was investigating an administrative complaint for the state Department of Insurance. She didn’t show up for an appointment with her supervisor on Thursday.

Michael Arthur Howell

One by one, customers walked up to the front door of the Dilworth Insurance agency Monday, only to be turned around by a florescent green sticker on the door, saying "Closed by order of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department."

The owner of the company, which is part of a strip that includes a coffee shop and art gallery, is now in jail charged with murder.

"You never know," said Sandi Courtney of Perk Coffee shop. "He kept to himself, but this…"

Sallie Rohrback

On Sunday, dozens of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers, Charlotte firefighters, and even North Carolina Department of Insurance investigators searched Charlotte’s SouthEnd to try to find Rohrbach.

"The most important thing is make sure we recover her body and return it home," CMPD spokeswoman Julie Hill said Monday.

Employees of a Bojangles’ restaurant on the corner of West Boulevard and South Tryon Street found Rohrbach’s state-issued car in their parking lot on Sunday.

"We have sworn law enforcement officers here assisting any way we can," said DOI investigator Tim Pardue, who originally reported Rohrbach missing Friday. A police report indicates co-workers have not been able to contact her since Wednesday.

All day Sunday, police officers and firefighters canvassed the neighborhood -- walking door-to-door, handing out flyers with Rohrbach's picture, scouting from the air with their helicopter, and even searching dumpsters.

Workers at Phat Burrito on Camden Road had a front row seat for the search, and the staging area was in an empty lot across the street.

“I saw all the ambulances and police cars and fire trucks pull up,” said Jeffrey Wilks, between making burritos. “One of the guys came over here and said a lady was missing.”

Wilks said it would surprise him if something bad happened in this area of SouthEnd, which has seen a resurgence in the last few years as it cleaned up its image and new businesses moved in.

“You see police riding up all the time on their Segways,” said Wilks. “They’re around a lot.”

Investigators revealed little about what, if anything, they found during their search Sunday. They won’t discuss what may have been in the car.

Ten DOI investigators are in Charlotte helping local police. They are sworn law enforcement officers, in addition to investigating insurance cases.

(WCNC's Diana Rugg and Richard DeVayne contributed to this report.)