Frank Ancona, the leader of a Missouri Ku Klux Klan (KKK) group, was found dead Saturday on a river bank in a rural part of the state, officials said Sunday. The 51-year-old, who was the imperial wizard of the Traditionalist Knights of KKK, had been shot in the head.

Ancona's body was found near the Big River near Belgrade, Missouri, by a family who was fishing nearby, the Kansas City Star reported. Washington County coroner Brian DeClue reportedly said Ancona died of a gunshot wound to the head.

“It was not self-inflicted,” DeClue told the Star. “This is now a homicide investigation.”

Police reportedly said Ancona had been missing since Wednesday. His car was located Friday by a U.S. Forest Service employee on Forest Service property, who then informed Missouri Highway Patrol, which assisted in the investigation along with St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department.

“During the investigation, one subject was arrested on an unrelated warrant and two search warrants were executed in Washington County,” Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen reportedly said. “Subsequently, a body was discovered on the bank of the Big River near Belgrade, Mo., in southern Washington County... The body was identified as Mr. Ancona, and his family has been notified.”

Ancona’s son, also named Frank, shared the news about his father's disappearance on his Facebook page Friday, saying “no one has heard from him, no one has seen his car or seen him personally since February 8th.”

“His bank account hasn’t been used, his cellphone has been turned off goes straight to voicemail,” he wrote. “Time is ticking, the more time we wait, the stronger the bad possibilities become!”

Local authorities did not mention Ancona's affiliation to KKK, which is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.

"The media will tell you The KKK is dead, gone, irrelevant. They have tried since the birth of the Klan to downplay the influence and power of the KKK," Ancona wrote on the web page for Traditionalist American Knights. "They also will try to portray us as haters, ignorant. They will ignore the facts. Let me tell you they are the haters. They have engaged in a campaign to destroy our Race, culture, and heritage."

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