Kathlynn Shepard Missing: Lead Suspect Commits Suicide
Kathlynn Shepard, 15, is still missing after being kidnapped from her school bus. A massive search is currently underway with hundreds of volunteers working to locate the girl. The lead suspect committed suicide, police said, and his body was found on a property northeast of Dayton, Ohio.
Shepard and a 12-year-old girl were abducted on Monday afternoon, but the younger girl was able to escape. She later told authorities that they had accepted a ride from a stranger and provided information about the man.
"We heard a noise out this way that sounded like a wounded animal. We started walking this way and here comes this girl – scratches all over her legs, crying a lot and we finally got a little bit out of her that she had somehow escaped from somebody," a man named Patrick told KCCI News. He then helpd the girl to the hospital.
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"Time obviously is not your friend in these kinds of situations," DCI Special Agent Bill Kietzman said at a news conference. "Our plan is that we're going to find her alive. That's our hope."
Michael Klunder, 42, was the lead suspect at the time; his body was found four hours after the girl were taken. He was listed on the state's sex offender registry and spent time in prison for kidnapping and assault, including the 1991 abduction of a Rudd woman and the kidnapping of two toddlers. Thankfully, the little girls were found safe in a dumpster.
The search is currently focused on three areas: Southeast Webster Grand Elementary, where the girls went to school; a hog confinement near Pilot mound, and the rural Dayton area, where Klunder was found dead.
Kathlynn was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and a Minnesota Vikings hat. She is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weights 160 pounds. Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 515-573-1410. They said they do not need any more volunteer searchers but would keep everyone posted if the need should arise.
