--- description: A Ku Klux Klan leader in Missouri whose body was found near a river over the weekend was fatally shot in the head, a coroner said Monday. title: Missouri Ku Klux Klan Leader Fatally Shot in Head: Coroner image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d2a217ad7a16b85/6988b9e48e06016dd84692b3/police-line.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ku Klux Klan Leader in Missouri Was Fatally Shot in the Head, Coroner Says  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2017 3:36 PM CUT  Police line do not cross belt. Taken on Uber'lpse Berlin 2009. Police line do not cross belt. Taken on Uber'lpse Berlin 2009.Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2017 3:36 PM CUT A Ku Klux Klan leader in Missouri whose [body was found near a river](http://time.com/4668247/ku-klux-klan-imperial-wizard-frank-ancona-dead-missouri/ "undefined") over the weekend was fatally shot in the head, a coroner said Monday. Frank Ancona, 51, who called himself the [“imperial wizard”](https://traditionalistamericanknights.com/Imperial%5FWizard.html "undefined") of a local KKK chapter, was shot at close range with a shotgun-type firearm, Washington County Coroner Brian DeClue told TIME. There were no other gunshot wounds on his body, DeClue said. It’s unclear what prompted the killing and whether there have been any arrests. Local authorities and prosecutors did not immediately return a request for comment Monday. Ancona went missing Friday. His body was discovered the next day by a riverbank near Belgrade, Mo., Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen [said](https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonCoSheriffsOffice/posts/1232764003510983 "undefined") in a statement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4668938/kkk-imperial-wizard-frank-ancona/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4668938/kkk-imperial-wizard-frank-ancona/"},"headline":"Ku Klux Klan Leader in Missouri Was Fatally Shot in the Head, Coroner Says","datePublished":"2017-02-13T15:36:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:42:52.376Z","description":"Frank Ancona, 51, called himself the “imperial wizard” of a local KKK chapter","url":"https://time.com/4668938/kkk-imperial-wizard-frank-ancona/","keywords":["Crime","Missouri","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d2a217ad7a16b85/6988b9e48e06016dd84692b3/police-line.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d2a217ad7a16b85/6988b9e48e06016dd84692b3/police-line.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Police line belt","caption":"Police line belt","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4668938/kkk-imperial-wizard-frank-ancona/","name":"Ku Klux Klan Leader in Missouri Was Fatally Shot in the Head, Coroner Says"}}]}] ```