CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, Mo. – A 21-year-old Cape Girardeau County woman was found buried inside a barn weeks after she was reported missing.
Jessi Wilfong was reported missing on May 25. Her family last saw her on the evening of May 19 at their home in Millersville.
According to Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson, investigators obtained a search warrant for a residence in the county on June 15. Evidence and information gathered at that residence led authorities to believe Wilfong had been murdered.
On June 18, investigators turned their attention to a barn “in close proximity” to the residence. Deputies noticed part of the ground inside the barn had been disturbed as if recently turned over. Wilfong’s remains were discovered buried in that area.
An autopsy determined Wilfong’s death to be the result of a homicide, Sheriff Dickerson said.
On Wednesday, the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 60-year-old Teresa Baumgartner with tampering with physical evidence in a felony investigation.
The sheriff’s office did not say if Baumgartner and Wilfong knew one another.