Body found in wooded area believed to be missing Kansas City, Kansas, 3-year-old: police
Police said they believe they have found the body of the 3-year-old girl who was reported missing early Friday morning.
Kansas City, Kansas, police said officers found a body in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Steele around 5:30 p.m. Friday. It is believed to be Olivia Ann Jansen, police said in a release.
Olivia was last seen at her residence in the 4400 block of Gibbs Road, said Officer T.J. Tomasic, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. Her father reported her missing from their home at 8:30 a.m.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said that Olivia’s father woke up at 6:30 a.m. and discovered that she was gone. The back door was open. The father last saw Olivia around 11 p.m. Thursday, he told police.
Olivia’s father, Howard Jansen III, 29, was booked in the Wyandotte County jail late Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse. He has not been formally charged in the death and is being held without bond, according to online court records.
Jansen also was being held on a warrant that originated from Kansas City, Kansas.
Officer Dustin Dierenfeldt, spokesman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, said earlier in the day that the mother of the child is currently incarcerated.
Holli Denney, who was at the scene Friday evening, said she is a close friend of the family and wonders if her mom even knows yet.
“I wouldn’t be able to imagine the heartbreak that her mom is feeling,” she said.
Before Olivia was found, Amanda Webb, 41, whose 4-year-old granddaughter was friends with her, had joined the search.
“When something like this happens in the community we just come together like this and do what we can to try to make things come out right,” Webb said earlier in the day.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations was on the scene helping in the search for Olivia early Friday afternoon.
The case is under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Kansas City, Kansas, police at 913-596-3000 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 6:49 PM.