The investigation into McElroy’s death took several months to complete. During the initial investigation, only Trena came forward to identify the shooter out of approximately 60 witnesses. She later retracted her statement. By the following Monday, Andrew County Sheriff Andrew Howard told reporters that they had already exhausted 35 leads. On July 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that they were entering into the case on the shooting. In September 1981, a grand jury announced that there would be no indictment in McElroy’s death. Forty years later, the case remains open and unsolved with locals and outside observers left to speculate on what exactly happened that summer day in 1981.