Michael Arthur Howell, 44, Indian Trail, N.C., was taken into custody Sunday night and charged with first-degree murder in the case of Sallie Rorbach, an insurance agent in Charlotte who is also registered to investigate complaints about other insurance agencies.

Rorbach hasn't been seen since last week and her car was found Sunday in a nearby restaurant parking lot. Her body hasn't been found.

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Monday that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Howell owned an insurance agency that Rorbach was investigating. She had been assigned to look through the agency's books, although details of the complaint weren't revealed.

"We had absolutely no indication this would be anything but routine," Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance, told the Observer.