Amanda Kay Johnston, 32, was reported missing from Monroe City, Missouri, on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, after friends and family could not reach her. Officers who responded to her home that afternoon noted signs of forced entry. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Monroe City Police issued an endangered person advisory as they searched.

On the morning of Saturday, August 8, 2020, Johnston’s body was found in a rural area of Pike County, Missouri. Investigators concluded she had been killed in the early hours of August 5; police say she was taken to St. Jude Cemetery in Monroe City and fatally shot around 3:11 a.m., then moved from that scene to where her body was located days later.

Two people from Monroe City were arrested in connection with the killing: 29-year-old Jerry Asbell, Jr., identified as the shooter, and 37-year-old Jessica Ellsworth, accused of helping move and conceal the body. Reports describe drug use as a motivating factor; surveillance footage and cooperation from Ellsworth helped establish the timeline.

If anyone has information about Amanda, her movements on August 4–5, 2020, or the cemetery area, please come forward.