Police in Missouri continue the search for a missing 35-year-old Edina woman who has not been seen in over two weeks.
According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Lindsey Watts was last seen May 19 at around 11:30 p.m., at her 511 North 5th Street residence.
Muddy River News reports that her 14-year-old daughter told police she heard Watts talking to an unidentified man in the home. Three neighbors reported hearing disturbances inside the home at the same time, described as the “scream in the dark.”
“Kids are getting out for the summer. They hoot and holler and stuff like that. But, after thinking about it and playing it back, it was definitely a scream,” neighbor Savannah Perrigo told the outlet.
“It was one of those screams, you could feel it. Then the next day, we were like, what do you mean somebody’s missing?”
The following morning, Watts failed to show up for work at Blessing Center in Edina. The same day, Knox County Sheriff Carl Knoche found her cell phone in a ditch near her residence. Her wallet, purse, car, and car keys were left inside her home, according to The Edina Sentinel.
He later said the investigation into her disappearance as “very concerning.”
Perrigo added that authorities searched an area near an alleyway located close to 5th and Clay, where a homeowner said he saw someone running around the same time neighbors heard screaming.
Meanwhile, Chad Arment, who described himself as the father of Watts’ child, reportedly stated that he passed a lie detector test at the Knox County Courthouse.
“I want to find her,” Arment said. “I made it clear to the sheriff she would not leave her daughter.”
He added that his daughter woke up at 2 a.m. on May 20, and found Watt’s bedroom door locked and the door to basement crawl space open.
During a vigil May 23 in front of the front of the Knox County Courthouse, loved ones described Watts as a quiet person with a big heart, WGEM reports.
Due to the circumstances behind the case, officials are not releasing additional information at this time. However, police called it an isolated incident and do not believe there is public danger.
Watts is described as a white female who stands 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs around 135 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes, and a tattoo on her shoulder of three small stars.
Anyone with information should contact the Knox County Sheriff’s Department at (660) 397-2186, ext. 1, or email tips to the Missouri State Highway Patrol at missingpersons@mshp.dps.mo.gov.
Check back for updates.
[Featured image via Knox County Sheriff’s Department]
