Authorities said today they have finished the search near the Little Blue River in Eastern Jackson County for clues in the death of Summer Shipp.
Investigators had spent more than four days at the site near Missouri 78 and Missouri 7 after fishermen found a skull floating in the river on Sunday. Authorities identified the remains as Shipp, a 54-year-old Kansas City woman who disappeared Dec. 8, 2004 while conducting a door-to-door marketing survey in Independence.
Searchers used everything from heavy machinery, such as backhoes, to riders on horseback and divers from Lee’s Summit Underwater Recovery to inspect an area that spanned at least two to three miles.
While police haven’t said how Shipp died, they said they are investigating her death as a crime. They have not said what kind of evidence they have found at the site or whether it is pointing to a suspect.