INITIAL POST: 3:15pm EDT
LAST UPDATE: 4:57pm (Updating every few minutes, so refresh the page often...)
Kelsey Smith's body has been found. It's 3:12pm and the body was found south of Longview Lake, in SE Grandview, MO. The body was found in a shallow creek. A tarp covers the area as I type...
Kelsey Smith was apparently kidnapped from the Target store parking lot in Overland Park (suburb of Kansas City) at 7:07pm Saturday night. A 20-ish looking white male is seen running up behind Kelsey and forcing her into her 1987 Buick Regal. The car is seen backing out of the parking space and leaving the lot.
A little over two hours later, Kelsey's car was found in the Macy's parking -- across the street at the Overland Mall. Police have been searching for the 18 year old high school graduate since that time.
Just a few minutes ago, the story broke on FOX4 in KC --
"Police have located the body of a young girl, police and the independent search company on the scene told a FOX News Channel producer for 'On the Record' with Greta that it was the body of Kelsey."
A half-mile radius was being deeply searched after Kelsey's cell phone pinged a local tower in the southeast Jackson County area. Tire tracks were found -- leaving the road and going into the woods. A search team went into the area -- and found Kelsey Smith's body within a few minutes by the Equi-Search team.
Update: 4:07pm -- The search has been called off. The medical examiner has arrived on the scene. Although not officially confirmed, these are definitive inferences that the body is Kelsey Smith. The local enforcement will have a live press conference at 5:00pm EDT.
Also, the person of interest whom police were trying to locate, lives near the area, according to Steph Watts, a FOXNews On The Record producer.
FWIW, and it may be worth NOTHING -- I am hearing the names Timothy Beach (or Beech) or... Jerimiah John Beach (or Beech) as a potential suspect. Someone also says that the suspected perp (the "person of interest") lives within two miles of where Kelsey's body was found. Police are trying to track him down -- with even more interest now. A rather slumy apartment complex is located near 71 highway and 155th St. -- not far from Longview Lake Park. I've heard someone with the last name of Beach / Beech lives near there... and MAY be a suspect.
As for the truck, I am hearing "live" that a mid-1970s Chevy pickup truck has been found -- and police think it is the one seen in the Target parking lot Saturday just before Kelsey was abducted.
A press conference is scheduled for 3 minutes from now. I'll post more during and after the press conference.
