OZARKS CRIME WATCHReal cases. Real impact.Reviewed case files stay connected to sources, official contacts, corrections, and future updates. The broader index shows every case covered in the episode archive.
Detailed public pages are released gradually as source records and editorial review are completed.
Tracy Ann Pickett was 14 when she disappeared from the Webb City and Joplin area. She was last seen leaving a friend’s residence in Webb City. Tracy has not been seen since, and official public records state that foul play is suspected.
Sixteen-year-old friends Lauria Jaylene Bible and Ashley Renae Freeman disappeared on December 30, 1999, after a fire destroyed the Freeman family’s mobile home near Welch, Oklahoma. Ashley’s parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were found shot to death. The teenagers’ remains have not been recovered, and the Craig County Sheriff’s Office lists the case as open.
Elizabeth Gwendolyn Creekmore was found dead inside the home she shared with her mother at 915 North Sergeant Avenue in Joplin on May 28, 1950. Contemporary reporting described a violent and initially conflicting death investigation. No one was charged, and the case remains unresolved.
Jennifer D. Judd was 20 years old when she was found dead inside her residence at 219 North Park Avenue in Baxter Springs on May 11, 1992. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says she died from multiple stab wounds. A $5,000 Governor’s Reward remains offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Sherrill Levitt, her daughter Suzanne “Suzie” Streeter, and Suzie’s friend Stacy McCall disappeared from Levitt’s Springfield home during the early morning of June 7, 1992. Suzanne and Stacy had returned after attending graduation parties. None of the three women has been seen or heard from since.
Kenneth Jay Mathews, 46, was killed in a shooting near 5th Street and Connor Avenue in Joplin on May 16, 2022. A second adult man was critically wounded. Joplin Police said the suspect or suspects left in a dark-colored passenger vehicle and asked the public for information.
Socorro Moran-Mendoza was 42 when her body was discovered inside a suitcase beside a roadway in Benton County on February 1, 1997. Arkansas State Police records say she had been strangled and beaten and had previously been reported missing in Mexico by her boyfriend.
Jim Potts, a 51-year-old private investigator from Wyandotte, Oklahoma, was found dead beside his vehicle along Kansas Highway 26 south of Galena on August 26, 2003. Cherokee County authorities classified the death as suicide. Potts’s family publicly disputed that ruling, and the U.S. Department of Justice later confirmed that the FBI had been asked to conduct a preliminary review.
Lucinda Jolene “Cindy” Adams was killed during an overnight shift at the Fastrip convenience store at 1204 North Duquesne Road in Joplin in the early hours of October 2, 1991. Archival reporting says she was shot and money was removed from the register. No suspect has been publicly named.
Sarah Elizabeth Burton was last seen near 10th Street and Rex Avenue in Joplin on July 16, 2018. Her mother reported her missing on July 20. The FBI’s Kansas City Division is assisting Joplin Police, and the FBI offers up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her disappearance.
A listing here confirms show coverage. It does not mean that a separate, fully sourced case page has been published.
Missing Person • Webb City, Missouri
Missing Person • Welch, Oklahoma
Unsolved Homicide • Joplin, Missouri
Unsolved Homicide • Baxter Springs, Kansas
Missing Person • Springfield, Missouri
Unsolved Homicide • Joplin, Missouri
Unsolved Homicide • Benton County, Arkansas
Suspicious Death • Near Galena, Kansas
Unsolved Homicide • Joplin, Missouri
Missing Person • Joplin, Missouri
Missing Person
Missing Person • Skidmore, Missouri
Suspicious Death
Unsolved Homicide
Missing Person
Missing Person
Missing Person
Missing Person
Missing Person
Missing Person