
NEOSHO COUNTY —On Sunday January 17, 2016, at approx. 7:01 pm the Neosho County E-911 Center received a report of an elderly woman setting in the passenger side of a pickup parked at a local business in Erie. The reporting party advised the woman had been in the parked truck since approximately 10:00 am that day, according to Sheriff Greg Taylor.
The Erie Police Department was dispatched to the business to check on the woman’s welfare. The woman told the officer that her son was going to a sports thing, did not want her to go, and left her in the vehicle around 10 am. The woman advised that her son, Jay Shumate had left walking in an unknown direction. The Erie PD Officer took the woman home to her residence in Erie, as she was unable to drive herself.
On January 21, 2016, the Erie Police Department as the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a search of the surrounding area of Erie. According to the Erie Police Department, Jay Shumate, who was 60 at the time, had not returned home. It was reported that Mr. Shumate would frequently walk along U.S. 59 or Main Street south from to the Neosho River.
On January 22, 2016, a large search consisting of community volunteers, law enforcement and volunteer fireman searched the surrounding snow-covered sections of land. With an emphasis on searching the area between Erie and the Neosho River. The search was conducted with individuals on foot, ATV’s, horseback, and aircraft. The search was unsuccessful. At the time there were a couple of alleged possible sightings of Mr. Shumate, one claiming to have seen someone similar hitchhiking on US69 near Pittsburg. The Erie Police Department investigation into Mr. Shumate’s disappearance was unsuccessful. Since that time the Neosho River has flooded a few times.
On February 13, 2023, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a human skull that had been found the previous day by people looking for deer antler sheds. Investigators collected the skull and were taken to the location of its discovery. The area is prone to flooding from the river. Investigators searched for any other remains or clothing in a large area around where the skull was found.
This search yielded nothing. The skull was taken to the Washburn University Forensic Anthropology lab for testing. The testing estimated that the skull was likely from a male.
The Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the KBI with the investigation. Familial DNA samples were collected from a member of the Shumate family. DNA profiles were sent to PTC Laboratories in Texas.
On Tuesday August 25, 2025, the Sheriff’s Office received the DNA Analysis confirming that the skull is the remains of Jay Shumate. The cause of death is unknown. A Sheriff’s Office Investigator has notified the next of kin.