By: Bobby Falat
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Search warrants entered into court records on March 13 reveal new details about how investigators built their case against Joshua Hite, the man charged in connection with the death of 25-year-old Isadora Wengel, including evidence that he ordered tools and supplies on the day investigators believe she was killed and later attempted to conceal his movements.
What the search warrants reveal
According to the warrants, filed by a Fargo Police detective, Hite ordered a Sawzall, plastic sheeting, heavy-duty trash bags, and duct tape from Home Depot via DoorDash on the morning of Jan. 4, 2026, the same day investigators believe Wengel was killed.
Digital forensics show that at 7:02 a.m. on Jan. 4, Hite Google searched “home depot Sawzall.” By 10:30 a.m., the items had been delivered to his apartment. That same morning, at 7:50 a.m., Hite deleted photos of Wengel from his cell phone. Later that afternoon, he searched “junk removal near me,” “dumpster,” and twice searched “how to register for a legal alias.”
A neighbor in Hite’s apartment building told detectives he heard loud banging in the early morning hours of Jan. 5, lasting roughly 40 minutes. The neighbor said the noise was strong enough to be felt through the walls and that he later heard what sounded like something being dragged down the stairs.
When detectives searched dumpsters near Hite’s apartment on Jan. 8, they recovered a Sawzall blade, plastic sheeting, gauze, a bath mat, and latex gloves. The North Dakota State Crime Laboratory and the University of North Dakota Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the items contained Wengel’s blood and bone tissue.
Investigators also noted that when Hite was arrested on Jan. 9, he was wearing Carhartt bibs with a shoulder strap that appeared to have been cut off, with red staining on the front. The bibs later tested presumptively positive for human blood. Detectives also documented multiple recent cuts and scratches on Hite’s fingers, wrists, arms, knees, and lower back.
Cell tower data sought across 37 locations
A second search warrant sought cell phone tower data from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and U.S. Cellular across 37 locations, stretching from Fargo into west-central Minnesota, in an effort to locate Wengel’s remains.
The warrant states investigators believe Hite left his phone at his apartment on Jan. 7 while his vehicle was captured on a license plate camera near Fergus Falls, Minn., leading detectives to conclude he was attempting to conceal his movements.
The locations listed in the warrant span a wide corridor, including Moorhead, Barnesville, Pelican Rapids, Fergus Falls, Battle Lake, Underwood, and Erhard, all in Minnesota. Investigators also searched a private scrap yard in Underwood, Minn., belonging to a friend of Hite’s, but did not locate Wengel’s remains.
Law enforcement also went through trash at the Fargo City Landfill for more than a week in 12-hour shifts before concluding Wengel’s remains were not there.
Background
Wengel, 25, was last seen on security footage at a Fargo Walmart on Jan. 3, 2026. Her family reported her missing on Jan. 7. Her body has not been recovered.
Hite was arrested Feb. 10 and is charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence, and providing false information to law enforcement.
Earlier this month, Judge Steven McCullough ordered Hite to undergo both a competency examination and a criminal responsibility examination at the North Dakota State Hospital. The competency exam will determine whether Hite is mentally fit to stand trial. The criminal responsibility exam will assess whether he lacked the capacity to understand the harmful nature of his alleged actions at the time of the crime.
Hearing postponed
Defense attorneys filed a motion on March 23 to continue Hite’s preliminary hearing, citing the ongoing mental health evaluations and the need to review a large volume of discovery materials. The state filed a response on March 24, and the motion was granted Wednesday.
Hite’s preliminary hearing has been rescheduled to June 19, 2026. His Felony Dispositional Conference has also been moved from April 30 to July 16, 2026
