Elizabeth Olten's Body Found After Two Day Search for Missing Cole County, Missouri Girl

By: Neil Katz
Topics: Missing

(Handout)

Photo: Elizabeth Olten.

ST. MARTINS, Mo. (AP) The search for 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten has ended in tragedy.

Police in central Missouri say they have recovered the body of the missing girl and have a juvenile "person of interest" in custody.

Cole County Sheriff Greg White told reporters Friday that the person of interest and Elizabeth were acquainted. White would not give any details about the person of interest except to say the individual lived in the area west of Jefferson City and was older than Elizabeth.

Police said the juvenile led searchers to the nine-year-old's body in a wooded area.

Elizabeth had last been seen when she started walking home from a neighbor's house on Wednesday.

The search and horrific end mirrors another case in Florida, where 7-year-old Somer Thompson's body was found in a landfill after a three-day search.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
October 22, 2009 - Elizabeth Olten Missing; 9-Year-Old Disappears in Cole County, Missouri

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by barbue November 26, 2009 5:48 PM EST: Leprosy is not a mental illness - for one. That being said, it is horrible world we live in, yes, but it is our world and we are the ones who can change it - unfortunately we do not know someone has a illness of the mental sort until they commit the crime. Understanding that there are people who commit crimes - rape, murder etc. is the first step, keeping them confined in a prison long after the crime is the next step to protecting ourselves and our loved ones.; Reply to this comment


by nick00001 November 3, 2009 4:55 PM EST: If guilty, the girl has committed a hideous crime and should be removed from the general public....but.... I look forward to the day when we understand the human brain and can recognize and hopefully heal those who are mentally broken. One day we will look back at how we treat mentally handicapped individuals and it will seem very similar as to how those with leprosy were once treated.; Reply to this comment


by quiltlpn October 23, 2009 10:12 PM EDT: What are we as a nation going to do to stop our beautiful children from being slaughtered?? Something needs to be done!! Is it the type of programming that our kids are exposed to that creates these sick monsters that can kill so thoughtlessly? What is fostering this madness??; Reply to this comment


by poorerobin October 23, 2009 7:14 PM EDT: My heart goes out to the Olten family. Another child in one week found dead--when is enough, enough! These cases are heartbreaking, as well as being commonplace in our society! Its a sick, sick world we live in!; Reply to this comment