MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop G Headquarters-P.O. Box 10-Willow Springs, MO 65793


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Martin K. Elmore
(417) 469-3121, ext. 225
G-08093
August 10, 2009

EMPHASIS: Missing Children's Bodies Located After Overnight Search


On Sunday, August 9, 2009, at 5:20 p.m., Wri-Tex 9-1-1 received a telephone call from an individual stating that two young boys had gone missing from a residence on Hazelton Drive, north of Licking in northern Texas County. The boys were identified as Jesse James Bagley, 7, and his brother Wyatt Earp Bagley, 4.
The Licking Fire Department and the Texas County Sheriff’s Department responded to the residence and began coordinating an extensive search, which was conducted throughout the night by multiple law enforcement, fire, and rescue agencies as well as nearly 300 citizen volunteers. Searchers utilized ATVs, horses, and watercraft in the effort.
On Monday, August 10, at 7:07 a.m., officers from the Missouri State Water Patrol discovered the body of Jesse Bagley in the Big Piney River, a short distance from the residence. At 7:42 a.m., the body of Wyatt Bagley was spotted in the river a short distance from his brother by troopers in a Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter, who relayed the information to Missouri State Water Patrol officers.
The Texas County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control continue to investigate.

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