LEBANON, Mo. (AP/KMOX) - Two southern Missouri men have been charged in the kidnapping of a woman who has been missing since July after photos of her, nearly naked and apparently locked in a cage, were found on one of their phones. The home of one of the men, where the woman was possibly being held was burned to the ground while the suspect was in jail.
James Phelps, 58 and Timothy Norton, 56, have been in jail since mid-September on a kidnapping charge in the disappearance of Cassidy Rainwater. Court documents says there's photo evidence of 33-year-old Cassidy Rainwater being held in a cage on Phelp's property in Lebanon. She has been missing since late July.
On Monday, that property was a total loss due to a fire. The Springfield Fire Department's bomb squad investigated a possible trip wire and detonated an explosive device near the area of the fire, the Springfield News-Leader reports. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Phelps told police in August that Rainwater had been staying on his property while she "got back on her feet." But he said she left in the middle of the night, possibly to go to Colorado.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Office deputies interviewed Phelps after a missing person’s report was filed in August because he was believed to be the last known person to have contact with her.
The FBI contacted local authorities a photo of a partially nude Rainwater being held in a cage that was sent to them anonymously, according to court documents. Investigators returned to Phelps’ home with a search warrant for his phone. They discovered seven photos a partially nude Rainwater locked in a cage, the court documents say.
Norton and Phelps were subsequently arrested.
Attorneys for Phelps and Norton didn't immediately return Associated Press phone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
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