KS MARILANE CARTER: Missing from Overland Park, KS - 1 Aug 2020 - Age 36 *Found Deceased*

Kansas mother of 3 goes missing on trip to visit family in Alabama

Marilane Carter, 36, last spoke to family from Memphis, Tennessee.

abcnews.go.com

Kansas mother of 3 goes missing on trip to visit family in Alabama

A mother of three from Kansas has now been missing for a week after leaving on a trip to visit family in Alabama.

Marilane Carter, 36, left her home in Overland Park, Kansas, just outside Kansas City, on the night of Saturday, Aug. 1, according to police. She was last seen in surveillance footage checking into a hotel in West Plains, Missouri, the following morning.

Law enforcement said Carter last spoke to family on that Sunday near Memphis, Tennessee, before her phone went dead. Police confirmed her cellphone last pinged in that area.

Her husband, Adam Carter, told Kansas City ABC affiliate that his wife spent about three hours at the Missouri hotel before leaving and was speaking to her when her phone died. She spoke to her mother minutes later and her phone died again.

The Overland Park police said she "made concerning statements to her family and has not been heard from since later Sunday, August 2nd."

Authorities did not specify what was said.

"She was seeking some mental health care and she didn't want to go to any place in Kansas City, but she wanted to go to a place she was familiar with," Adam Carter, who works as a pastor in Kansas, told KMBC on Saturday.

Marilane Carter's mother lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and she was also going to see her newborn niece.

Carter said the family has been searching in the area of the Interstate 55 bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis where the cellphone last pinged her location. She has not used her phone or credit card since speaking to her husband and mother on Sunday evening.

"We are devastated because she has three children and they cry every night," Marlene Mesler, Marilane's mother, told Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA. "They are asking for their mommy. Her husband loves her so much."


MEDIA - MARILANE CARTER: Missing from Overland Park, KS since 1 Aug 2020 - Age 36

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

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heavy.com

Marilane Carter: Kansas Woman Goes Missing During Trip to Alabama

Marilane Carter is a missing mother of three who left her Kansas home at the beginning of the month alone in her car.

The 36-year-old was last seen by her family leaving her Overland Park home on Aug. 1 around 8:15 p.m., according to an Overland Park Police Department press release. Carter was heading to Birmingham, Alabama to visit family.

1. Carter Left Kansas to Seek Mental Health Treatment in Birmingham & to be Near Her Family

According to the Find Marilane Facebook page, which shares information, tips and leads surrounding her disappearance in conjunction with her family, Carter left Kansas to seek mental health treatment in Birmingham and to be near her family.

“We know based on Marilane’s phone conversations with her family + searches on her phone that she was very focused on getting to Birmingham on Sunday 8/2 to get the help she wanted,” an earlier post on the Facebook account reads.

2. Surveillance Videos Show Carter Aug. 2 in Missouri & Arkansas

Larsen confirmed at the Aug. 14 press conference that Carter was seen on surveillance footage on Aug. 2 at a Quality Inn hotel in West Plains, MO.

The mother-of-three checked in by herself around 3:30 a.m. and stayed roughly three hours before checking out, he said. Carter drove away in her vehicle around 6 a.m.

New footage places Carter at a Shell gas station “in the area of West Memphis, Arkansas on I-55 just west of the Mississippi River” later that day, Larsen continued. She is seen around 5 p.m. fueling her car and retrieving water from inside.

3. Carter’s Phone Went Dead in the Area of the I-55 Bridge Coming Into Memphis

GPS location of Carter’s cell phone was last pinged on Aug. 2 around 8 p.m. near the Arkansas Weigh Station on I-55 coming into Memphis, according to police. It was close to the Big River Crossings Trail and Bridge.

4. Carter’s Husband is a Lead Pastor of Leawood Baptist Church

5. Sonar Boat Crews Are Searching the Mississippi River

For the second day in a row, sonar boat crews scoured the the Mississippi River on Aug. 14 for evidence of Carter’s vehicle, according to the Find Marilane Facebook page.

“We now need MEMPHIS-AREA boaters/fisherman to help us rule out any possibility of Marilane’s vehicle being submerged in the Mississippi River near Memphis,” an earlier post read.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

FACEBOOK - FIND MARILANE - https://www.facebook.com/findmarilane

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Marilane Carter: Police release details of missing pastor’s wife

Carter, a 36-year-old graduate of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School and the wife of an Overland Park pastor, was last seen about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, when she left home headed toward Birmingham, according to the Overland Park Police Department.

www.al.com

A Kansas wife and mother who vanished nearly two weeks ago while en route to Alabama had planned to fly to Birmingham but made a last-minute decision to drive instead, authorities said Friday.

Marilane Carter, a 36-year-old graduate of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School and the wife of an Overland Park pastor, was last seen about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, when she left home headed toward Birmingham, according to the Overland Park Police Department.

Det. Blake Larsen on Friday held a news briefing in Overland Park, the first since Carter’s disappearance. He said Carter that Saturday bought a Southwest Airlines ticket to fly to Birmingham to visit her sister, who is due to soon have a baby, and also to seek treatment for undisclosed mental health issues.

Carter took a nap Saturday and when she awoke, Larsen said, she decided to drive to Birmingham instead. “That helps give a view into her mindset,’' Larsen said.


Authorities have been able to determine through credit card charges and cell phone data that Carter traveled through Missouri where she stopped at a McDonalds. Then, on Sunday, Aug. 3, she checked in alone to the Quality Inn in West Plains, Missouri at 3:37 a.m. She checked out of the hotel at 6:08 a.m., driving off alone in her 2011 dark gray GMC Acadia with Kansas license plate 194 LFY.

Also Sunday, Carter made a stop at a Shell Station in West Memphis, Arkansas, where she fueled up and went inside with her cup to get some ice water. The last pinged GPS location of her cell phone was at 8:02 p.m. later that day near the Arkansas weigh station on Interstate 55 entering Memphis, Tennessee.


The detective said Carter’s husband became worried when she did not arrive in Birmingham and filed a missing person’s report with Overland Park police at 3 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3. “She left Overland Park of her own free will with nothing suspicious afoot,’' Larsen said.

More than a half-dozen law enforcement agencies in at least four state have aided in the search for Carter. “This is not an active criminal investigation,’' Larsen emphasized. “We’re simply trying to locate Marilane Carter to help bring her back to her (family). They’re worried sick about her.”

 

[GrandmaBear]

None of this sounds good. The only thing I can think of that could be good where she would not use her phone or money is if she checked herself in somewhere or is with a friend. I guess she could be traveling elsewhere but she would need money to do so and continue.

 

[GarAndMo39]

View attachment 5912

Kansas mother of 3 goes missing on trip to visit family in Alabama

Marilane Carter, 36, last spoke to family from Memphis, Tennessee.

abcnews.go.com

Kansas mother of 3 goes missing on trip to visit family in Alabama

A mother of three from Kansas has now been missing for a week after leaving on a trip to visit family in Alabama.

Marilane Carter, 36, left her home in Overland Park, Kansas, just outside Kansas City, on the night of Saturday, Aug. 1, according to police. She was last seen in surveillance footage checking into a hotel in West Plains, Missouri, the following morning.

Law enforcement said Carter last spoke to family on that Sunday near Memphis, Tennessee, before her phone went dead. Police confirmed her cellphone last pinged in that area.

Her husband, Adam Carter, told Kansas City ABC affiliate that his wife spent about three hours at the Missouri hotel before leaving and was speaking to her when her phone died. She spoke to her mother minutes later and her phone died again.

The Overland Park police said she "made concerning statements to her family and has not been heard from since later Sunday, August 2nd."

Authorities did not specify what was said.

"She was seeking some mental health care and she didn't want to go to any place in Kansas City, but she wanted to go to a place she was familiar with," Adam Carter, who works as a pastor in Kansas, told KMBC on Saturday.

Marilane Carter's mother lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and she was also going to see her newborn niece.

Carter said the family has been searching in the area of the Interstate 55 bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis where the cellphone last pinged her location. She has not used her phone or credit card since speaking to her husband and mother on Sunday evening.

"We are devastated because she has three children and they cry every night," Marlene Mesler, Marilane's mother, told Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA. "They are asking for their mommy. Her husband loves her so much."

Not intending to victim blame or be accusatory, but I have to wonder if anyone in her circle of family and friends offered to go with her or tried to prevent her from going alone, considering the mental health issues she was experiencing. I'm worried for her.

 

[Guess Who]

live report shows them searching the river where her phone last pinged. Seems like that would have been the first place to look to me.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Not intending to victim blame or be accusatory, but I have to wonder if anyone in her circle of family and friends offered to go with her or tried to prevent her from going alone, considering the mental health issues she was experiencing. I'm worried for her.

I couldn't help but wonder that either. That's a fair trip for one driver, especially when she was bent on getting there quickly as well... No judgment but she had to be tired I imagine with just a few hours of sleep at the one motel if I read it correctly. I would worry she fell asleep driving and had an accident and yet her phone is off which is very worrisome.

If she first had a flight planned and changed her mind at the least minute, perhaps no one had a chance to make arrangements to go with her...?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Best case scenario here, I think, would be that she just tossed her phone in the river, ditched the car somewhere it hasn't been located yet, and took off to clear her head. But with the car not being found...I hate to think that she's in the water.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Best case scenario here, I think, would be that she just tossed her phone in the river, ditched the car somewhere it hasn't been located yet, and took off to clear her head. But with the car not being found...I hate to think that she's in the water.

Probably unlikely but that does give me a thought. She could have tossed the phone or disabled it and be miles away with her car parked in a motel lot how many states away, or with a friend. It sounds like though she would have to have help or cash, etc. Just hoping I guess but it does seem unlikely.

 

[kdg411]

Best case scenario here, I think, would be that she just tossed her phone in the river, ditched the car somewhere it hasn't been located yet, and took off to clear her head. But with the car not being found...I hate to think that she's in the water.

I'm familiar with that area and trust me that it isn't a place "she" would have been safe just stopping and tossing her phone. On my way to Tunica driving thru felt uncomfortable as it is going into East St. Louis. You can do a quick search on crime & violence for ESL. It's a city to drive thru and NOT stop even for gas.

Now, once you cross the river into West Memphis there is always a cell drop issue. So maybe that's what happened?

Certainly her mental health should be kept in the forefront, imo.

 

[Guess Who]

I'm familiar with that area and trust me that it isn't a place "she" would have been safe just stopping and tossing her phone. On my way to Tunica driving thru felt uncomfortable as it is going into East St. Louis. You can do a quick search on crime & violence for ESL. It's a city to drive thru and NOT stop even for gas.

Now, once you cross the river into West Memphis there is always a cell drop issue. So maybe that's what happened?

Certainly her mental health should be kept in the forefront, imo.

but I would think her car would have been caught somewhere on a traffic cam near the other side of the bridge or after. Not that there is no way for her to get past them, but with as many that are around now, you would think her car would have been spotted somewhere on one.

 

[Guess Who]

there is really only two ways near there to get across the river and both of those are loaded with traffic cameras

Smartway

smartway.tn.gov

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Well, pings are not precise. She could have crossed the bridge (and been seen by a camera) and then her phone died. Those both look like pretty major bridges with cameras that one would not drive off of without being noticed. Other ways to approach the river than the two major bridges.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Well, pings are not precise. She could have crossed the bridge (and been seen by a camera) and then her phone died. Those both look like pretty major bridges with cameras that one would not drive off of without being noticed. Other ways to approach the river than the two major bridges.

I figure if they were searching the river they figure she went in somewhere other than off a bridge. Most bridges you can't just drive off of and if possible, there would be damage to the barrier, guardrail or something wouldn't there...? Like you say, I don't see it happening unnoticed... However, I don't know the area. And I have a healthy fear of going off of a bridge in a vehicle but still, there would be evidence I would think...

 

[kdg411]

If they are watching her credit card purchases to track her & those stopped, then there is a reason to worry. I'm curious about the mental health care she was going down there for. If family was concerned about her harming herself then certainly someone would have (hopefully) stepped in to go with her.

 

[GrandmaBear]

If they are watching her credit card purchases to track her & those stopped, then there is a reason to worry. I'm curious about the mental health care she was going down there for. If family was concerned about her harming herself then certainly someone would have (hopefully) stepped in to go with her.

The thing here too is look at the dates. She has been missing almost two weeks. At first I thought, they can't track an adult's bank account without a warrant but they could if joint with her husband with permission. It is clear there is something they were worried about with her state of mind and I don't blame them for not sharing more. They do make it clear they are not suspecting a crime and it is more of a case of locating her.

All that being said, she could have been under some pressure, a pastor's wife, Covid, a mom, family far away (some), who knows. But yeah, no trail or purchases or sign of her is worrisome. I tend to think you do not make a vehicle disappear that easily unless somewhere rural though... Or parked on some street or in some parking lot no one would notice for any reason...?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Police don’t suspect criminal act in disappearance of Kansas mother

Investigators in Kansas say they don’t suspect any foul play in the disappearance of a mother who was driving through the Mid-South.

www.kait8.com

Investigators say while they do not suspect anything criminal, they do consider Marilane Carter missing and endangered.

She left her home in Overland Park around 8 p.m. Saturday night two weeks ago, heading to Birmingham, Alabama where her parents live.

Her family said she wanted to be there when her sister’s baby is born and to seek counseling for anxiety and insomnia.

Investigators say she filled up a cup with water and bought gas. Three hours later she talked with her mother around 8 p.m. and her phone went dead around the I-55 bridge in West Memphis. Her husband, Adam, said there was evidence that she was googling mental health facilities during that time.

“We have not located any evidence to suggest she went into the river. Nothing to suggest her vehicle drove off a bridge.”

Investigators say there’s no evidence that she ever drove into Memphis.

“The path kind of stops at West Memphis, Arkansas.”

 

[GrandmaBear]

Police don’t suspect criminal act in disappearance of Kansas mother

Investigators in Kansas say they don’t suspect any foul play in the disappearance of a mother who was driving through the Mid-South.

www.kait8.com

Investigators say while they do not suspect anything criminal, they do consider Marilane Carter missing and endangered.

She left her home in Overland Park around 8 p.m. Saturday night two weeks ago, heading to Birmingham, Alabama where her parents live.

Her family said she wanted to be there when her sister’s baby is born and to seek counseling for anxiety and insomnia.

Investigators say she filled up a cup with water and bought gas. Three hours later she talked with her mother around 8 p.m. and her phone went dead around the I-55 bridge in West Memphis. Her husband, Adam, said there was evidence that she was googling mental health facilities during that time.

“We have not located any evidence to suggest she went into the river. Nothing to suggest her vehicle drove off a bridge.”

Investigators say there’s no evidence that she ever drove into Memphis.

“The path kind of stops at West Memphis, Arkansas.”

If she was googling mental health facilities, perhaps she checked herself into one? Maybe she was about to turn on a different route so she turned her phone off?

While I guess it is possible for a mood to change a lot in a short period of time, she filled her car with gas, why bother if you are about to do something to yourself...

Something is causing anxiety and insomnia most likely. Maybe she felt under pressure from family, husband or life and did not want to be in a facility near home nor near family on the other end. Maybe she feels a need for a break. Doesn't make it right not informing anyone, but looking for some hope here...

As we have found out to no end lately, it is not illegal for an adult to go missing. If she tried to fake an abduction or something, then she could get in some trouble but just disappearing is not illegal.

I wonder with the abrupt decision not to fly if she did not want to fly because it would take her from husband to family with no chance to go elsewhere. Is it possible she wanted to go elsewhere and get a break, or see a friend and the visit to see her sister and seek out a facility was an excuse to get a break from home?

Just looking for a good ending and just thoughts. They have no evidence of an accident nor anything else. How did she go off the radar however...? And where is her car...?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

‘It goes cold’: Detectives trying to find Marilane Carter frustrated by dead ends

Investigators say they have been doing everything in their power to try to find missing metro woman Marilane Cater, but lead detective Blake Larsen said they have run into roadblocks.

wgno.com

‘It goes cold’: Detectives trying to find Marilane Carter frustrated by dead ends

Investigators say they have been doing everything in their power to try to find missing metro woman Marilane Cater, but lead detective Blake Larsen said they have run into roadblocks.

“I want people to know, we are doing everything possible,” Larsen said in a news conference on Aug. 14, 12 days after she was last heard from.


“After her phone goes off at 8:02… it goes cold,” Larsen said.

The detective told reporters that officers don’t have much more evidence than that. He said that’s what has made this case particularly unusual, prompting a large response.

He said officials have tried tracking the vehicle through OnStar and satellite radio, but there is no information based on the vehicle she was driving, a 2012 GMC Acadia. Traffic cameras in the Memphis area have also come up empty.

“We’ve even attempted to get a search warrant in the Kansas courts for her cellular tower pings,” Larsen said. “In the state of Kansas, the statute does not allow for the community care-taking function.”

He said that type of warrant is only available for criminal activity.


He asked anyone with a good tip, either here or down near Memphis, to contact their local police department.