Sister searching for brother spots body in woods, Missouri family says. ‘Mom, stop’
The body of a man missing for a week in central Missouri was found off the side of a road, deputies say.
The grim discovery, according to Missouri outlets, was made by the 25-year-old man’s mother and sister who were searching for him.
Malik Jones, of Macon, Missouri, went missing Jan. 30, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He was believed to be traveling to Columbia, about 60 miles south.
In a statement to KTVO, family members said Jones was meeting someone at the Columbia Mall. Family suspected foul play upon his disappearance.
As his sister and mother were driving in Boone County — which includes Columbia — on Feb. 7, his sister noticed something in the woods beside the road, KOMU reported.
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, stop. Back up,’ and I backed up,” Shawna Patterson, Jones’ mother, told KOMU. “She got out of the car and she just immediately started screaming. I jumped out of the car and we saw Malik laying there.”
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery of Jones’ body.
His Chevrolet Malibu was discovered in the Columbia area a day after his body was found, KOMU reported.
Authorities have now opened a homicide investigation, according to multiple outlets, including KMIZ.
Before her son’s body was discovered, Patterson told KMIZ that Jones “loved his family and his girlfriend (and) he always had a smile on his face.”
“Prayer led us to Malik,” she said. “We prayed and we asked God to bring us to him, show us where Malik was.”
Anyone with information about Jones’ disappearance or death is asked to contact the Boone County Sheriff’s Office at 573-442-6131.
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