Lakota Rae Renville, 22, a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe, was found murdered on October 16, 2005, in a gravel lot near Pitcher Road in Independence, Missouri. A pedestrian initially thought the wrapped bundle was trash; her nude body was wrapped in carpet padding and a southwestern-style blanket with a steer skull. Authorities described the killing as vicious and brutal — she had been beaten and stabbed — and believe she was killed elsewhere before her body was left in the vacant lot.

Renville had moved from South Dakota to the Kansas City area two years earlier to live with a man she met online. Police investigated suggestions she may have been prostituting along Independence Avenue; her last known interaction was with a customer about 3:30 a.m. the morning she was found, but that individual was later identified and cleared by DNA testing. Investigators collected DNA evidence and tested it against at least eight people of interest without a match. Her stolen cell phone was reportedly used after her death to place roughly 50 brief calls, apparently to mislead investigators. A witness also reported seeing a brown 1990s Ford Explorer near the scene; no link has been confirmed.

No arrests or primary suspects have been publicly identified and the case remains open. If anyone has information about Lakota Renville, the vehicle seen that morning, or the calls placed from her phone, please come forward.