A decomposing body found in a pink suitcase in a ravine off Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan and Noel in July 2019 was later identified as 25-year-old Jessica McCormack. McCormack had not been seen since mid-July after a reported domestic disturbance at her home where she told officers her partner had threatened her with a knife. When her remains were identified, her three young daughters — ages four, two, and six months — were missing and an Amber Alert was issued.

Investigators focused on McCormack’s partner, Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, a Somali national who had lived with her in Noel. Detectives say Mahamed drove the children to Des Moines, Iowa, leaving them with a former co-worker and then fled the country. The children were located safe on August 8, 2019. Authorities later tracked Mahamed to Guatemala, where he was captured and returned to the United States and indicted on federal charges including kidnapping resulting in death and stalking resulting in death; investigators reported blood evidence in a vehicle and the purchase of the pink suitcase tied him to the case.