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When deputies informed Chad Huff they believed a Liz Baune had been murdered, the Payette County Sheriff didn’t immediately recognize the name. Then he arrived on scene and saw the victim’s driver’s license.

“I know the family,” he said. “I grew up with the victim. I’ve known her all her life. So, it’s a struggle. It’s a struggle for me personally.”

In high school, Huff and others knew the victim as “Libby.”

“Obviously, we do the best we can on every case,” Huff said, “but this one has got special meaning to me.”

Deputies entered a house on Baker Lane – just a half mile from the sheriff’s office – shortly before 11 p.m. in response to a 911 call from the victim’s roommate and cousin.

“Just an initial look inside one of the bedrooms and they confirmed [the victim] was deceased,” Huff said.

Deputies taped off the house and waited for detectives from four different agencies to confirm they’d responded to a homicide.

“There were four people who resided in that residence and one person we cannot find,” Huff said.

Investigators called the victim’s missing roommate – a Michael J. Culley – a person of interest, Thursday morning.

“That particular person we really need to get in contact with,” Huff said, “and we can’t find him.”

Also missing: the victim’s vehicle.

Elizabeth Anne Baune worked at the Western Idaho Community action Partnership. Her murder marks the third homicide in Huff’s career as sheriff, the second in the last three months and the first involving an individual he knew from his childhood.

“You know,” Huff said, “[murders are] few and far between and [they’re] disheartening for me as the sheriff.”