News Release

For further information please contact: Sgt. Jason Clark
(573) 522-0980
DDCC09032008
September 3, 2008

EMPHASIS: Sodomy Investigation

In July 2007 the Division of Drug and Crime Control began a sodomy investigation in Ripley County, Missouri, involving the former Butler County Clerk Jonnie L. Dunivan, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Mr. Dunivan fled Missouri in July 2007 following being charged with 1st degree statutory sodomy in Ripley County.

On Monday, September 1, 2008, hikers located skeletal human remains on private property near the “Hungry Mother State Park” in Marion, Virginia. While processing the scene, investigators located a passport belonging to Johnnie L. Dunivan near the body.

Mr. Dunivan had mailed correspondence from Bristol, Virginia, on July 16, 2007. His abandoned truck was later located on July 20, 2007, by Virginia authorities along Interstate 81 in Marion, Virginia. The remains were located approximately 1 1/2 miles from where Dunivan’s truck had been found. Other evidence was present at the scene to indicate the body was likely that of Mr. Dunivan. The cause and manner of death are under investigation by Virginia authorities. Positive identification has not been made at this time, however, Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators have forwarded forensic information to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke, Virginia, to either identify or exclude the remains as Dunivan’s.

Dunivan was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted” in April 2008.
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