Dallas County sheriff addresses rumors in disappearance case of Cassidy Rainwater

BUFFALO, Mo. (KY3) - Dallas County Sheriff Scott Rice addressed rumors in the investigation into the disappearance of Cassidy Rainwater.

James Phelps and Timothy Norton face charges of kidnapping in the case.

Sheriff Rice wrote in a Facebook post he’s upset with social media and bloggers thinking they know what is happening.

“There is a lot of misinformation and rumors regarding the Cassidy Rainwater case being circulated across social media and various news platforms,” said Sheriff Rice. “While I understand the impatience and curiosity of the people, I’m going to give you a piece of advice. It is not a good idea to listen to “a crime reporter/blogger “or TikTok videos that are sitting in their apartment or their mommy and daddy’s basement eating Great Value cheese puffs and drinking box wine with grand intentions of being a social media superstar.”

In September, the FBI investigators contacted detectives in Dallas County saying they received photos from an anonymous person showing Rainwater in a cage. Investigators say a detective recognized Rainwater in a partially nude state. After searching Phelps’ phone, officials discovered seven photos of Rainwater. According to detectives, Rainwater had been staying with Phelps while she got on her feet. Investigators say Phelps claims she had left in the middle of the night at the end of July and he had not seen her since then.

FBI agents and Dallas County deputies searched the property for days in late September. The sheriff reminds the public there is a process involved in criminal investigations.

“If you are hanging on every word is this type of crap, believing it to be fact, you are living in a fantasy world,” said Sheriff Rice. “This isn’t a tv series or movie where we go to commercial break and have lab results in 15 minutes. Searching a crime scene for 7 days 24 hours a day takes that long, 168 hours. 99.999999% of what has been posted to social media is CRAP. Law Enforcement Officers must play within the rules of the American Criminal Justice system. While the system has its faults, it’s still the best system in the world. We are judged by a jury of our peers with a Judge presiding over the case, a prosecutor who presents the case, and a defense attorney who defends their client. This is where ALL facts of the case come out, not TikTok, Facebook, or any other social media outlet. NO, you are not entitled to a play-by-play of an ongoing investigation. If you want to be in the know, we are hiring along with every other law enforcement agency in the country.”

The sheriff said he expects to release news in the investigation in the coming days. Read his entire post below:

Addressing Fake News:

There is a lot of misinformation and rumors regarding the Cassidy Rainwater case being circulated across social media and various news platforms. While I understand the impatience and curiosity of the people, I’m going to give you a piece of advice. It is not a good idea to listen to “a crime reporter/blogger “or TikTok videos that are sitting in their apartment or their mommy and daddy’s basement eating Great Value cheese puffs and drinking box wine with grand intentions of being a social media superstar. If you are hanging on every word is this type of crap, believing it to be fact, you are living in a fantasy world. This isn’t a tv series or movie where we go to commercial break and have lab results in 15 minutes. Searching a crime scene for 7 days 24 hours a day takes that long, 168 hours. 99.999999% of what has been posted to social media is CRAP.

Law Enforcement Officers must play within the rules of the American Criminal Justice system. While the system has its faults, it’s still the best system in the world. We are judged by a jury of our peers with a Judge presiding over the case, a Prosecutor who presents the case, and a Defense attorney who defends their client. This is where ALL facts of the case come out, not TikTok, Facebook, or any other social media outlet. NO, you are not entitled to a play-by-play of an ongoing investigation. If you want to be in the know, we are hiring along with every other law enforcement agency in the country.

We are working in the real-world and this is an active ongoing investigation. When all members of the prosecution team believe that it is appropriate to release information, we will keep you informed. Until that time, I can tell you we have all parties involved with Cassidy Rainwater’s case in jail and we expect additional charges to be filed in the coming days.

If you are not a resident and are planning a trip into our Beautiful County to sightsee, remember a few things. While the citizens of Dallas County are friendly, neighborly, caring, and kind people, we do not like those who show up to trespass, litter, vandalize, harass, or destroy property. If this is your intention, you are not welcome here and we will prosecute you for this.

Sheriff Rice.

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