Dozens search for missing Belton woman in park. She last spoke with parents Sunday

Jon Parsons began to expect something was awry when calls to his daughter’s phone went straight to voicemail.

Earlier Sunday, 26-year-old Jessica N. Parsons of Belton told her mother she was feeling anxious and was considering taking a walk in Memorial Park, a large green space with a pond near the city’s old downtown.

Three days later, dozens of officers from multiple area agencies canvassed the park, combing shrubs that line its perimeter and diving into the pond’s depths. Jon Parsons was joined by friends as he searched the park the area.

“This is completely out of character,” he said. “For her phone to be off and no contact on anything: Facebook, Snapchat, text. Extremely out of character for her.”

Lee’s Summit Underwater Rescue & Recovery was conducting the water search, and Jon Parsons said detectives planned an aerial search.

His daughter had used Uber to get to and from the Walmart in Raymore on Sunday, police said.

The Uber driver dropped Parsons off near the 300 block of Main Street, according to Belton police. Police were coordinating a search team in that area Wednesday afternoon.

Lt. Travis George, a Belton police spokesman, said the Uber driver was contacted by detectives and is not a suspect at this time.

Parsons was seen on video after being dropped off by the driver, he said.

George added the family notified police on Tuesday. Shortly afterward, Belton police announced on social media that the woman was missing.

George said he couldn't speculate on whether foul play was involved.

Police originally said Parsons was last seen Sunday when she left home on foot for a walk in Memorial Park. She last texted with family around 6:15 p.m., Parsons said.

Jon Parsons said when he and his wife left for church Sunday morning, their daughter was still in bed. Around noon, Parsons texted her mother about being anxious.

She told her mother that she “was going for a walk around Memorial Park,” Jon Parsons said. “Read her Kindle. Clear her head. That wasn’t unusual.”

When her parents returned home in the early afternoon, Parsons was gone. Communication with her stopped with those last texts around 6:15 p.m.

She has not been seen or heard from since and cell phone pings show activity up to 10 p.m. Sunday, but nothing afterward, according to police.

Police said the Uber car, a black Ford 500, picked her up about 12:47 p.m. at her home. Surveillance photos show Parsons and the car at the Walmart where she made a purchase around 1:15 p.m. The Uber car dropped her off about 1:27 p.m. when she returned to Belton.

“I assume Uber does a good job vetting their drivers,” Jon Parsons said. “My concern is if she encounters somebody … after she’s dropped off.”

If Wednesday's search is inconclusive, Jon Parsons said, "we’ll plan another large scale search of our own."

A statewide endangered person advisory has been issued for Parsons, who was described as a white female, about 5-feet-2-inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes. She has a birth mark on her right temple and a Native American symbol on her left shoulder.

Police ask anyone who has seen Parsons or has any information about her whereabouts to call 911, the Belton police at 816-331-1500 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477 (TIPS).