Howell's It Going, August 25, 2024
Hello and welcome to Howell’s It Going. This is your weekly update on what’s happening in your community. I’m Amanda Mendez, and this is your news.
The discovery of two skeletal bodies last week sent shockwaves through the county as many assumed they were the long-sought resolution to the disappearances of Ira Briscoe and Limon Little. Briscoe and Little have been missing since December 2020. Briscoe’s disappearance has tugged at the heartstrings of this community. His mother, Marilyn’s, desperate and untiring search for Ira has been well documented. So has her vocal criticism of local law enforcement.
Howell County Sheriff’s Office announced last Wednesday that skeletal remains had been found on August 10. According to the initial release, inclement weather prevented the full exhumation of the remains for four days.
“Identification of the remains has not been determined, and an autopsy will be conducted before the remains are sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Laboratory for identification.”
Identifying the remains definitively could take some time.
In a follow-up interview Friday morning, Howell County Sheriff Brent Campbell was not ready to tie the discovery to the Briscoe/Limon disappearances.
Within an hour of that conversation, however, an article from the Spring River Chronicle in Arkansas began making the rounds on local social media, claiming that the remains were “believed” to be those of Briscoe and Little. The article repeatedly attributes a Fulton County Investigator, Dale Weaver, with minute details tying discovery to the missing men.
In a Friday afternoon interview, Howell County Investigator Torey Thompson, reiterated that it is premature to assume the identity of the remains.
“We just don’t know with any degree of certainty,” Thompson told the News.
Thompson commented on details from the Chronicle’s story, saying, “Those details did not come from our office.”
Specifically regarding a metal jaw plate that could identify the remains via serial number, Thompson said, “So far, it has not been helpful.”
He also commented that it is “standard protocol” for immediate family members of missing persons to be asked for DNA samples. The Chronicle reported that Marylin Briscoe’s sample was taken, “for comparison.”
Identification could take “months or more,” Thompson said, and though, “It could very well be them [referring to Briscoe and Little], there is no way I would even elude to an identification at this point.”
According to Thompson, the details came, not from Weaver, but from “an unauthorized release of information” that is pending investigation.
Howell County News did reach out to Dale Weaver, the source credited by the Chronicle. Weaver provided a statement that narrates his role in the investigation.
Both Howell County Sherriff’s Office and Weaver confirm that the path to the discovery of the remains began in the investigation of these missing persons cases.
“Any time we interview the interlapping circles of missing persons cases, we discover things,” Sheriff Campbell said Friday morning. “People say this has been put on the back burner, but it never has been on the back burner.”
According to Weaver's statement, “During an interview in Fulton County, he was provided with a general location of where the bodies [of Briscoe and Little] were allegedly placed,”
This investigator has been attached to the case from the beginning. Initially, there was suspicion that the men had been killed in Missouri, with their bodies dumped in Fulton County, AR.
The statement continues:
“Fulton County Sheriff Jake Smith and Weaver drove to find the area and discovered it was in Howell County,” his statement continues. “(Weaver) contacted Investigator Torey Thompson and advised him of what he had learned and arranged to meet with Howell County the following day. (They) conducted a limited search of the area that day and Howell County planned to do a more extensive search at a later time.
About two weeks ago, Colton Wilson, a deputy with the Sharp County Sheriff’s Department, was present during an interview (Weaver) was conducting with a potential witness in the case. After the interview, (they) talked about the case, and Deputy Wilson had an interest in helping locate the victim’s remains.
The following week Wilson, along with some of Ira’s friends, searched areas that they thought might lead to finding both men. Wilson later contacted (Weaver) and asked about the possible location.
Wilson searched the area and found an old cistern and called (Weaver) and advised (him) of what he had found. (Weaver), in turn, called Investigator Torey Thompson, and the three of (them) met at the location.
(They) saw what appeared to be a silver tarp or duct tape and obtained an instrument to recover it and found that it was a tarp. When it was pulled out, it contained what appeared to be the bones of a human forearm.”
The HCSO’s initial release thanks the Missouri State Highway Patrol, West Plains Police Department, West Plains Fire Department, Howell County Coroner’s Office, The Howell County Prosecutor’s Office, Howell County Road and Bridge, South Howell EMS, South Eastern Missouri State Anthropology Department, and the Investigators and Deputies from Fulton County, and Sharp County Arkansas for their assistance.
Weaver’s statement, “commend[s] the Howell County Sheriff’s Department for coordinating the processing of the crime scene in a professional and efficient manner.”
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The Howell County Sheriff's Department has issued an Endangered Person Advisory for a missing person incident that occurred at 10807 County Road 9470 West Plains, at 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 17.
Missing is Abigail Katherine Lawless. Abigail Katherine Lawless is a white female, aged 17, height 5'9”, 162 lbs., with brown hair, brown eyes, and an unknown clothing description.
Lawless left a note stating she was better off living on her own and is possibly traveling to Kansas City, Mo. with an unknown subject she met online.
Anyone who sees the missing person, or anyone having any information related to the endangered missing person, should immediately dial 911 to contact the nearest law enforcement agency or call the Howell County Sheriff's Department at 417-256-2544.
Earlier this month, a Butler County jury found former law enforcement officer Rob Ruel Pilkington guilty on nine felony counts involving sexual activity with a minor and not guilty on four counts. He is being held on a half million-dollar bond while he awaits sentencing later this year. The jury trial was held at the Butler County Courthouse from August 7 to 9.
As previously reported by Howell County News, Pilkington, a former Howell County Sheriff's deputy and school resource officer for South Fork Elementary, was initially arrested on Thanksgiving in November 2021 on statutory rape charges involving a teenage girl. The initial case was transferred to Butler County in May 2022 and dismissed shortly after. Following the results of a June 10, 2022, forensic interview with the same victim, prosecutors proceeded with the current charges.
The 12-person jury deliberated for four hours and forty-three minutes and found Pilkington guilty on five felony counts of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy – deviate sexual intercourse – person less than 14 years of age, three felony counts of statutory rape or attempted statutory rape - first degree – person less than 14 years of age, and one felony count of use of a child in a sexual performance – serious emotional injury. The state prosecution requested that Pilkington be held without bond until sentencing. The court set his bond at $500,000 surety only. A sentencing hearing has been set for November 7, 2024.
Route 17 in Howell and Texas Counties will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform pavement repair. This section of roadway is located from U.S. 60 in Howell County to Route 137 in Texas County.
Weather permitting, work will take place Monday, Sept. 2 to Thursday, Oct. 3 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. The work zone will be marked with signs. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area.
For additional information, contact MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.
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A dedication for “Porter Wagoner’s Guitar” sculpture will be held at the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center, located at 2999 Porter Wagoner Blvd. in West Plains. The dedication will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28. The artist who carved the guitar, Jason Morton of Eagle Ridge Chainsaw Carvings, will be on site. The public is invited to attend the brief dedication ceremony. Dennis “Haxaw” Bottoms, who played with Porter, will be in attendance and will provide live music in the welcome center following the dedication. South Fork Lunch Box food truck will also be at the welcome center from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In discussing the event, Tourism Manager Melissa Wharton said, “Last year, one of our large oak trees in front of the welcome center died and had to be removed. We wanted to do something special with it, so when the city crew cut it down, we had them leave a stump about 10-foot tall. In March, we hired Jason to carve Porter’s guitar from the remaining part of the tree. We were so pleased with his work, that when we noticed a second tree had unfortunately died, we knew we wanted him to come back and create something else. We’ve chosen the theme of the sculpture, but we’re keeping it a secret until the 28.”
Porter Wagoner was a legendary country music recording artist and songrwriter from West Plains. He was the host and star of the Porter Wagoner Show which ran from 1960 to 1981. It was Porter who introduced Dolly Parton to the world and helped her start her career while she was a performer on his show from 1967 to 1975. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years, from 1957 until his death in 2007.
Always slender in build, Porter was called the “Thin Man from West Plains.” The longest street in town, Porter Wagoner Blvd., is named for him.
A familiar face is returning to the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team.
Dr. Walt Belcher, who served as an assistant coach for the Grizzlies during the 2022-2023 season, will join Head Coach Jared Phay and Assistant Coach Michael Poindexter on the bench this season.
Belcher spent the 2023-2024 season as an assistant coach with Queens University, an NCAA Division I program in Charlotte, N.C.
Belcher said that he's grateful for the opportunity that Coach Phay has given him to rejoin the MSU-WP Grizzly Basketball coaching staff. He continued, saying he was excited to be back in West Plains and ready to get to work.
Belcher's resumé includes more than 20 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels. He spent 14 years coaching at three different high schools in Missouri, including four years at Mtn. View-Birch Tree Liberty High School. In addition to coaching, Belcher spent 12 years as principal at Liberty High School.
He also spent six seasons as assistant coach at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida, prior to his first stint with the Grizzlies.
FEMA disaster loans are available to certain residents for storm damage and job loss from storms that occurred May 19 through May 27, 2024. These include residents in Howell, Barry, Butler, Carter, New Madrid, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard & Texas county. Economic injury-only loans are available for residents of contiguous Missouri Counties of: Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Mississippi, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Phelps, Pulaski, Reynolds, Stone, Wayne & Wright.
If you are located in a declared disaster area, you may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration , also known as the SBA.
Types of disaster loans available include business physical disaster loans, economic injury disaster loans, and home disaster loans. All applicants must show the ability to repay all loans and have a credit history acceptable to the SBA. The application filing deadlines for physical damage is September 23, 2024 and for economic injury is April 23, 2025. If you have questions about the program, contact the SBA at 1-800-659-2955.
This is Amanda and this has been Howell's It Going.