By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostAn
investigation into the death of a 21-year-old Independence woman whose body was
stuffed in a bag and dumped on a Buchanan County road continues, though the
sheriff admits it has become a very difficult case to work.Buchanan
County Sheriff Bill Puett says the circumstances present investigators many challenges.“This
has been a very difficult investigation, because we don’t really have a crime
scene. We have a dump site where the body was dumped along the side of the
road,” Puett tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.An
employee of the Missouri Department of Transportation found the body of Ariel
Starcher in mid-February off the side of Vincent Road. Puett says Buchanan
County has received help from Kansas City, Independence, and Kansas law
enforcement.The
sheriff says the background of the victim hasn’t helped, either, though Puett says
he hesitates to discuss much about the lifestyle of the victim.“Unfortunately,
our victim was in a very high-risk lifestyle and it’s proving to be very
difficult to get people to cooperate, provide information,” according to Puett.Puett
says relatives have disclosed Starcher used drugs and had been sexually
assaulted. He says those who knew Starcher have not been cooperative. He says the
county is waiting on lab results, which could help.Puett
says another case has proven difficult as well.Buchanan
County deputies discovered the body of 59-year-old Timothy McDowell of Gower earlier
this month during a wellness check. Puett says the department is waiting on a
determination of the cause of death. For now, it is being termed “suspicious.”

Two Buchanan County death investigations proving to be difficult