The search for a missing Missouri couple ended tragically after authorities discovered two bodies on a nearby property.
Leo Lindeman, 73, and his wife, Katherine Lindeman, 74, were last seen on September 15 and are believed to have disappeared the following day, according to the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office.
The couple lived with their small white dog, Itty Bitty, at a rural home near Anderson, a southwestern Missouri community in the foothills of the Ozarks.
Itty Bitty disappeared at the same time as the Lindemans. The couple was officially reported missing on September 24, although authorities have not disclosed who filed the report.
For more than a month, investigators searched the surrounding area and returned several times to the couple’s home in hopes of finding clues.
Their bodies were discovered Sunday on a neighbor’s property, roughly 400 to 500 yards from the Lindemans’ home, McDonald County Sheriff Rob Evenson told KNWA. He said the couple’s poodle has still not been found.
Several deputies and detectives were later seen converging on private property along Beehive Lane, according to KOAM.
The circumstances surrounding the couple’s deaths remain unclear.
Two bodies were discovered Sunday during the search for Missouri couple Leo Lindeman, 73, and Katherine Lindeman, 74, who were last seen on September 15. Image source: Facebook/@Katherine Lindeman
The Lindemans were described as private individuals, and the sheriff previously said their neighbors did not find it unusual that they had not heard from the couple for some time. Images source: Facebook/@Katherine Lindeman
The couple’s small white dog, Itty Bitty, is still missing. Image source: Facebook/@Katherine Lindeman
Evenson previously told KNWA that the Lindemans were known to be “private people,” making it less unusual that neighbors had not heard from them.
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“We’ve got a bit of a mystery,” he said.
The sheriff said investigators secured a search warrant for the Lindemans’ residence several days after the couple was reported missing.
Investigators dusted the home for fingerprints and collected electronic devices and trace evidence that could prove useful as the case develops, Evenson told KNWA.
Authorities also searched the property surrounding the residence, along with nearby land, he said.
Leo’s niece, LaShawnda Lindeman, said in a Facebook post in September that relatives and law enforcement had already spent days searching around the home.
She wrote that family members initially visited the property with a private drone operator, who surveyed the area before a search-and-rescue team arrived with a dog and continued looking for several hours.
Additional relatives returned the next day and worked alongside the sheriff’s office and another company. The team brought two more drones, three additional search dogs and a large group of volunteers and personnel.
Investigators spent more than a month searching for clues, including making repeated visits to the Lindemans’ home, pictured. Image source: Facebook/@Katherine Lindeman
“Together, approximately 15 acres of property were extensively searched. Unfortunately, we did not find Leo, Katherine, or anything that gave us answers as to where they may be,” she said.
Before the bodies were located, Evenson told KODE12 that the investigation remained active, while describing the lack of evidence and leads as frustrating.
“We’d like to have some leads, some solid leads, that will get us moving in the right direction, and I’m hopeful that will happen,” he said.
Our News Outlet has contacted the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office for additional comment.
