Two people whose decomposed bodies were recovered from a wrecked vehicle in north Arkansas have been identified as Missouri residents who had been missing for nearly two months.
Jamie Katzenmaier, 28, of Sedalia, Mo., and Leslea Shannon, 35, of Centerview, Mo., were found last week inside an overturned vehicle off U.S. 65 near the town of Leslie, according to Arkansas State Police. The Warrensburg Police Department in Missouri on Sept. 27 asked the public for help finding the pair, identified as traveling in a 2000 Mazda pickup. Warrensburg is about 60 miles southeast of Kansas City.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the case is being investigated as a fatal crash. A preliminary report says the Mazda was traveling south when it left the highway, struck a tree and overturned.
A state trooper spotted the vehicle last week in a tree line off the highway, an area that is covered by foliage in warm months. Changing temperatures and fallen leaves opened up the sightline, Sadler said.
Katenzmaier and Shannon were last seen after midnight on Sept. 9 in Marshall, Ark., when a Searcy County deputy stopped their vehicle because a taillight was out, Warrensburg Police Chief Rich Lockhart told the Daily Star-Journal of Johnson County, Mo.
NW News on 11/07/2018