On November 23, 2024, 19-year-old Preston Bell was forcibly taken from a residence in the 500 block of S. Brookside in Independence, Missouri. Witnesses reported seeing him forced into his own black Chevrolet Malibu at about 8:30 p.m., and there were initial reports that shots may have been fired during the abduction. His family reported him missing to the Independence Police Department when they could not contact him.

The next day, November 24, Kansas City officers found Bell’s vehicle abandoned just after 4:30 p.m. on the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 435 at Truman Road. Bell was discovered in the back seat with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene; an autopsy later found he had been shot more than 10 times. The case was treated as a homicide and the Independence Police Department assumed the investigation.

Authorities charged 23-year-old Steven B. Rock of Independence with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and abandonment of a corpse. Court documents say surveillance footage from the home showed three people approach Bell’s car; Rock allegedly pulled an unresponsive person from the driver’s seat and placed them in the back before driving away.

If anyone knew Preston, his movements that evening, or saw the black Chevrolet Malibu on November 23–24, please come forward with information.