Body Found in Barrel on Missouri River ID’d as Potential Witness in 2022 Hostage Case

A potential witness in a kidnapping case from 2022 has been found dead after a group of kayakers discovered human remains inside a blue barrel floating in the Missouri River.

Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull said the group had opened the barrel on June 24 to find the remains of Jaynie Crosdale in "advanced decomposition," as reported by FOX4.

Crosdale had been identified as a potential witness in a kidnapping case against Timothy Haslett Jr. as prosecutors believe that she may have "been inside" Haslett's house before he was arrested, according to NBC News.

Authorities identified her as a possible witness in January and believed that she may have "information about the investigation."

Dull told FOX4 that police believe that Haslett contacted Crosdale before he was arrested. The cause of her death has not been released and police did not comment on if the barrels found on Haslett’s property were similar to the one Crosdale was found in.

"We’re trying to investigate any connections there might be," Dull told FOX4.

After Crosdale's remains were identified, prosecutors asked to have Haslett’s bond raised due to “concern for the safety of the community,” but a judge ruled that the initial $3 million bond was high enough.

"I think $3 million is an excessive bond for any case. He’s a public defender client," Haslett’s attorney Tiffany Luety Winningham told reporters. "There’s no way he’s ever going to post $3 million in cash."

Crosdale's family said in a statement to FOX4 that they believe that she was a victim just as much as she was a witness: "We are deeply saddened at this horrific news. We are however relieved that we finally get to have a proper burial for her. She was truly loved and will be missed."

Haslett was arrested in October 2022 after an unidentified 22-year-old Black woman escaped from his basement and screamed for help, saying he had kidnapped and assaulted her. Neighbor Lisa Johnson helped the woman and called 911, as reported by NBC News.

When police arrived, the victim was found wearing a metal dog collar with a padlock, latex lingerie, and duct tape around her neck as if it had been pulled down from her mouth. She told police that she had been handcuffed and kept in a small room in Haslett’s basement since September 2022, and had been repeatedly beaten and raped. The victim said she escaped when Haslett left to take his child to school.

The woman alleged that there were other victims, but police did not find anyone else in the home.

In February, Haslett was indicted on one count of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count of endangering a child. If convicted, he faces up to five life sentences.