Missouri woman found dead more than five months after her mysterious disappearance

A woman’s remains were discovered in the woods of eastern Missouri more than five months after she disappeared, authorities said.

Emily Strite, 33, was last seen in early April in De Soto, a southeastern city about 45 miles from St. Louis, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said she apparently left the area on foot of her own free will, according to a missing person flyer for Strite released later that month. Strite was officially reported missing on April 20.

Law enforcement had asked for the public’s assistance as they began their investigation into Strite’s disappearance. The sheriff’s office described her in its April bulletin as 5 feet 10 inches tall and said she was wearing jeans and a dark blue hoodie before she disappeared. Pictures of Strite appeared in this bulletin alongside the description.

Grant Bissell, the public safety information coordinator for the sheriff’s office, told CBS News that authorities reported Strite’s last sighting in Imperial, a St. Louis suburb, in an initial missing person bulletin, but later learned that she was last seen in De Soto was seen. The changed location appeared in an updated bulletin published a few days later.

The owner of a property in De Soto found Strite’s body on Saturday, Sept. 28, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak announced last week.

Deputies responded to a call Saturday from property owner De Soto, who reported that human skeletal remains had been discovered in a wooded area, Marshak said. Regional medical examiner investigators determined the remains belonged to Strite and confirmed the identity through medical and dental records.

Strite’s cause of death is still unknown, according to the sheriff, who said investigators are working to determine how her body ended up where it was found. Bissell told CBS News there was no evidence of foul play in Strite’s disappearance or death.

“Nevertheless, this is an ongoing investigation and our office hopes to uncover the truth about Emily Strite’s case,” Bissell said in an email.

Authorities have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.

According to the sheriff’s office, Strite was staying with an acquaintance in De Soto before her disappearance. Her mother, Charlyn McClain, reported her missing.

McClain told NBC’s “Dateline” that she last spoke to her daughter on April 12 and assumed that the 33-year-old had traveled across the border from Missouri to Cahokia, Illinois, to be with her children to visit her father’s house. But the father, Steve Fults, called McClain about a week later and asked if she had heard from Strite, the mother recalled to Dateline.

“He never called me and asked me anything about Emily or told me anything about Emily,” McClain said, according to NBC News. “That’s why I panicked when he called me because he’d never done this before.”

Shortly thereafter, a missing persons report was filed for Strite.