In the summer of 2018, a 28-year-old mother named Sarah Elizabeth Burton vanished from Joplin, Missouri, leaving her family and community with unanswered questions. She was last seen on July 17, 2018. A friend had given her a ride, dropping her off in a service alley near 10th and Rex with the intention of her walking the short distance to her parents' home. Tragically, Sarah never arrived.
A few days after she was last seen, the friend who had dropped her off contacted Sarah's parents because her purse and one of her shoes had been left behind in the car. This alarming discovery prompted her mother to officially report her missing on July 20. The initial belief was that Sarah was last seen where her friend dropped her off, but the investigation later uncovered that she was seen later that same morning at a residence in the northwest part of Joplin. How she traveled from one location to the other remains unknown.
Sarah's life before she disappeared was one of both promise and personal challenges. In high school, she was a bright student and a cheerleader, even being placed in a program for gifted students. However, after graduation, she began to struggle with an addiction to methamphetamine, which led to a prison sentence on drug-related charges. Despite these difficulties, Sarah was a devoted mother to two young sons. At the time she went missing, she was living with her parents who were actively trying to get her into a long-term drug treatment program. She was out on bail for charges of drug possession, trafficking in stolen identities, and motor vehicle theft, but was reportedly making all of her court appearances. Just days before her disappearance, she had been in a car accident that wrecked the vehicle her father had recently helped her buy. Her parents believe she may have been avoiding them out of fear of their reaction to the accident.
The investigation into Sarah's disappearance has been extensive, involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Joplin Police Department and the FBI. Over the years, investigators have pursued numerous leads, conducting searches of various properties, including homes and even draining a pond, in Missouri and Kansas. Despite these efforts, her case remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance, and authorities have expressed their belief that she was likely harmed, and possibly murdered. The father of her children was incarcerated when she went missing and is not considered a suspect. A reward, which has been increased over time, is being offered for credible information that could lead to an arrest and conviction in her case. The circumstances surrounding what happened to Sarah Burton after she was last seen that July morning are unclear, leaving a painful void for a family still waiting for answers.Last Seen: Jul 17, 2018
