As rumors swirl, investigation continues into a missing woman and two Lebanon men
As bizarre rumors flood social media, authorities have confirmed little about a missing woman and two suspects being held without bond in Dallas County, Missouri.
Everything about the case appears strange, including the first clues going to the FBI.
Federal authorities have ramped up the search for 33-year-old Cassidy Rainwater. She has not been seen since mid-July and was reported missing on August 25th.
Two weeks ago, the FBI office in Kansas City got an anonymous tip that Rainwater was being held in a cage on property near Lebanon, Missouri.
Court documents say James Phelps and Timothy Norton were staying there. Both now are in jail and have been charged with felony kidnapping.
The probable cause statement says photos found on Phelps’ cell phone show a woman partially nude and in a cage. Detectives identified the woman as Rainwater.
The document says Norton admitted he helped Phelps to restrain Rainwater.
Beyond the photos, investigators are not saying what they found on the Phelps property.
But Rainwater's family history is troubling. Her mother, Tracy Wahwassuck, disappeared 14 years ago.
Investigators found her bones a year later, scattered across a field near Lebanon. The sheriff of Laclede County at the time talked to Springfield CBS affiliate KOLR. "It was unusual, some of the statements made by people, that we'll have to go on with the new evidence we have and see where that leads us," said Former Laclede County Sheriff Richard Wrinkle.
On Thursday, KOLR talked to the Laclede County coroner who said only that the 2007 disappearance is still an open case. He said he does not believe there is a link between Cassidy Rainwater's disappearance and her mother's death.
