Kylr Yust, questioned in woman’s disappearance, to appear in court Thursday

The man questioned in the disappearance of a Raymore woman was transported Wednesday from Benton County, Mo., to Kansas City, where authorities searched his grandfather’s home.

Authorities moved Kylr Yust, 28, from the county jail in Warsaw, Mo., where he had been held since Sunday. Police arrested him on charges of “knowingly burning” the vehicle of Jessica Runions, 21, of Raymore.

He will make his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.

Runions was last seen Sept. 8 leaving a gathering in south Kansas City with Yust, the ex-boyfriend of Kara Kopetsky, who disappeared in May 2007. Yust was questioned more than once in that case.

Wednesday afternoon, police spent about three hours searching the home of Yust’s grandfather in the 8700 block of Crescent Avenue in southeast Kansas City. Kylr had been living with his grandfather in the months since he got out of prison earlier this year.

Alfred Yust, who will be 85 later this month, walked through the home showing how closets were emptied and dressers gone through. He raised Kylr.

“When he was with me, he was a good boy,” said Yust, who got a phone call from his grandson Wednesday morning while he was still in Benton County. “The things he’s showing now, he’s never showed here. But things change, I guess.”

According to Benton County records obtained by The Star, authorities served two warrants there, one for a residence at 30551 Pecan Drive in Edwards, Mo., and another for Kylr Yust himself.

“There may be evidence in relation to a knowingly burning or exploding and missing person’s investigation,” the warrants said.

The search of the Pecan Drive residence, where relatives of Kylr Yust live, sought weapons, any evidence of an accelerant, blood, clothing, shoes and “any other items critical to the case and any other items of illegal nature.”

Authorities took photographs of the residence and collected a red and black shirt and two 9 mm bullets.

The warrant requesting evidence from Kylr Yust sought similar evidence, plus hair samples, fingernail scrapings and swabs from his body.

Officers obtained several swabs, fingernail scrapings and hair, as well as jeans, a tank top, tennis shoes and underwear.

Police continue to search for Runions, whose boyfriend is a longtime friend of Yust. Her family and friends have posted fliers across the Kansas City area asking for help in finding her.

Alfred Yust, who has met Jessica Runions and seen her more than once, said he doesn’t know what to think about everything that’s unfolded in the past week. When Kylr called Wednesday morning, he wished his grandfather an early happy birthday. Wednesday was Kylr’s 28th birthday so the two talked about birthdays, and that was about it, Alfred Yust said.

“He did say he’d be coming up here today,” Yust said.

When his grandson got out of prison earlier this year and served his home confinement at Yust’s split level home, Alfred Yust said, it seemed Kylr was starting to get his life together.

“I thought he might have,” Yust said. “But I don’t know.”

Authorities asked anyone with information about Runions’ disappearance to call the Kansas City Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, 816-234-5136, or the TIPS hotline, 816-474-8477.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Kylr Yust, questioned in woman’s disappearance, to appear in court Thursday."