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Authorities believe they have found the remains of a Missouri mother who went missing in September.
The Independence Police Department announced Wednesday that it recovered the remains of a woman on Tuesday after following leads in the search for 44-year-old Ebony Duncan and combing the area around 83rd St. and Hillcrest Road in Kansas City.
A cadaver dog used in the search located a body in the woods nearby.
What have police said about the body found in the search for Ebony Duncan?
“The deceased person has identifiers that are consistent with those of Ebony Duncan and at this time, the deceased person is believed to be her,” the Independence Police Department stated. “However, a positive identification will have to be made with the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office as the case continues.”
Where was Ebony Duncan last seen?
Charles Smith-Howell is suspected of kidnapping Ebony Duncan
After a two month-long investigation, police have narrowed in on Duncan’s ex-boyfriend, Charles Smith-Howell, 41, who officials suspect may have kidnapped her, according to the Kansas City Star. Smith-Howell is currently in federal custody without bond for an illegal possession of ammunition charge.
According to court documents obtained by Fox 4 News, “[Ebony Duncan] confided in a co-worker that a prior intimate partner or ex-boyfriend was threatening to kill her.”
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When Smith-Howell was arrested in September, the Independence Police Department’s SWAT team found a license plate inside the SUV he was driving that was registered to a vehicle that authorities suspect is the one that Duncan was last seen getting in to, the Star reported.
Authorities said they also found a gun magazine loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, which led to Smith-Howell’s federal charge. He has not been charged in relation to Duncan’s disappearance.
Police said they’re searching for a person of interest in this case, 42-year-old Keaira Ransberg (Jenkins), for questioning. She’s described as being 5 feet tall, weighing 150 pounds, and having brown eyes. Ransberg has a last known address in Kansas City. Anyone with information on where Ransberg might be is encouraged to contact the Crimestoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, where they can remain anonymous.
As the investigation continues, Duncan’s family is grieving.
“We would never think that in a million years, something like this would happen,” Duncan’s daughter, Essence Williams, told KC-TV.
Williams told the station that she began to worry when her mother never called her while she was in the hospital preparing to give birth.
“I feel devastated for my kids, especially because she was so excited for my third baby,” Williams said. “The last time I saw her, she was rubbing my belly saying, ‘Oh, your belly has gotten so big,’ she was so happy.”
