By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
An 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.”