Police in Missouri have positively identified human remains found in the woods, as a missing mother of four, Emily Strite. The woman disappeared in April from De Soto, about 50 miles south of St. Louis. Strite was allegedly in and out of an abusive relationship with the father of three of her children, but he is not currently a suspect in her death. Her family just wants answers.
According to an April 25 Facebook post from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Strite allegedly left the De Soto area on foot on the morning of April 12. At the time, police believed she was leaving of her own free will.
Her mother, Charlyn McClain, told Dateline NBC her daughter was headed to Cahokia, Illinois, a short trip from the Missouri border across the Mississippi River to see three of her children and her ex, Steve Fults, but it seems she never made it.
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McClain felt like something was wrong.
McClain told Dateline she spoke with Strite only for a moment on April 12, and Strite told her mom she was going to see her kids. Nothing seemed unusual until she received a call from Fults a week later.
“Steve called me and said to me, ‘Have you heard from your daughter? It’s been, like, over a week now, and I haven’t seen or heard from your daughter,'” McClain recalled.
She added that Fults had never made a call like that before, and she instantly grew concerned. On April 20, she filed a missing person’s report with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Fults claimed he never spoke to his ex about her coming to visit their children.
Fults texted Dateline and explained that he last saw Strite at the end of March or the beginning of April. “I had no knowledge of Emily wanting to see her kids on April 12 because she didn’t call me!” he said.
Her ex admitted to calling McClain but added, “so we had no relationship besides the children we share.”
Loved ones searched for the missing mom for months.
In cooperation with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the community began looking for her. A Facebook group popped up dedicated to finding Strite and any leads in the case.
Jess Strite, the missing woman’s sister, told KTVI in June that Strite wasn’t in a relationship with Fults at the time she disappeared, but “It is speculated that he was the last person she made contact with when she left on the 12th. She had been staying with someone she met in the DeSoto area prior to her choosing to leave, but from what we know, she was headed back to Illinois to see her ex and kids.”
The sister added, “Emily was in and out of an abusive relationship for most of her adult life with her younger three children’s father.”
Sadly, the sheriff’s department announced on September 28 that human remains found in a wooded area near the 4100 block of Frissell Road in DeSoto belong to Strite. Her cause of death remains undetermined as police continue to investigate.
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Loved ones want to know what happened.
Strite’s childhood friend, Amanda Bauman, told KTVI she’s heartbroken.
“We pray now that we get answers and whoever hurt her is brought to justice,” Bauman said. “She literally lit up a room every chance that she got.”
Friend Christi Bauman shared her love on Facebook, writing, “This is a post I have dreaded ever having to make since I first received that call from Emily’s mom about her missing. Did my gut instinct tell me that something was seriously wrong? Absolutely, I Immediately knew! I have never given up on finding Emily!”
Bauman vowed to discover the truth. “Now that her skeletal remains have been found I will continue to do what I have to do and that is to get #JUSTICEFOREMILY!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU EMILY ANN STRITE! UNTIL I SEE YOU AGAIN, FLY HIGH MY BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!!!!”
When he spoke to Dateline, Fults called Strite a “strong courageous woman and a great mom.”
Anyone with information about the case should call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office at 636-797-5515.
