Body found inside missing Kansas woman’s car in storage unit near Memphis
A body believed to be that of a missing Overland Park woman was found Tuesday in West Memphis, Arkansas, the local coroner’s office confirmed Wednesday.
Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office Chief Todd Grooms told The Star Wednesday that the individual believed to be Marilane Carter was found sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle inside a storage container. The ignition was in the run position, he said.
It’s believed she died of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning, though an official autopsy report had not yet been completed, Grooms said Wednesday afternoon.
The day before, Grooms said in a press conference video streamed live on Facebook by KSHB that a body was found in a vehicle in a storage unit in a field previously searched. Searchers had seen the storage units, but didn’t look inside because they assumed the units were locked.
WREG Memphis reported Tuesday night that the body is believed to be Carter’s, who has been missing since Aug. 3. The car was found near Interstate 55 in eastern Arkansas.
The sheriff’s office has maintained that they do not suspect foul play.
WREG also reported Carter’s uncle initially found the shipping container and noticed that the door on one of the three containers in the field was open.
Carter was last seen by her family leaving her home around 8:15 p.m. Aug. 1 driving a gray 2011 GMC Arcadia. She was heading to Birmingham Alabama to visit family and seek medical health help.
In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, the church where her husband is lead pastor announced to its congregation that 36-year-old Carter was found along with her SUV in West Memphis.
“It is with very heavy hearts that we share that Marilane Carter has passed away,” the Leawood Baptist Church announced in the post.
The church asked its members to keep her husband, Pastor Adam Carter, and their three children in their prayers.
Last week, Overland Park police said Carter had traveled through Rolla, Missouri, and then arrived in West Plaines, Missouri, around 3:45 am. She checked out of a hotel at 6:05 a.m.
She traveled south into Arkansas where she stopped at a convenience store in Hazen. A video showed Carter at a Shell gas station shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, off of Interstate 55 just west of the Mississippi River near West Memphis.
It was around there when her cellphone pinged for the last time on a cell tower at 8:02 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Carter’s husband reported her missing around 3 or 4 a.m. on August 3.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this reporting.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 7:07 PM.
