A young woman's remains are found in a suitcase along US-59 In July 2019, a grim discovery along Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan and Noel launched a complex investigation involving multiple states and international law enforcement. Authorities found a pink suitcase discarded in a ravine, inside of which was the decomposing body of 25-year-old Jessica McCormack. The young mother had not been seen since mid-July, following a reported domestic disturbance at her home where she told responding officers that her partner had threatened her with a knife.
By the time her remains were identified, her three young daughters—aged four, two, and six months—were missing, prompting an urgent Amber Alert.
The investigation quickly focused on McCormack’s partner, Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, a Somali national who had lived with her in Noel. Detectives learned that shortly after McCormack was last seen, Mahamed had abruptly left the state with the three children. He drove them to Des Moines, Iowa, where he left them in the care of a former co-worker, claiming he could no longer care for them. The children were found safe on August 8, 2019, but by then, Mahamed had fled the country.
For nearly two years, Mahamed remained a fugitive, eventually hiding out in Guatemala. In July 2021, Guatemalan authorities captured him and expelled him to the United States to face justice. He was indicted on federal charges including kidnapping resulting in death and stalking resulting in death. Investigators revealed that blood evidence found in a vehicle and the purchase of the pink suitcase linked him directly to the crime.
In August 2025, the long legal saga reached a conclusion when Mahamed appeared in federal court. He entered a guilty plea to the charge of kidnapping resulting in death, admitting his role in the events that led to McCormack’s murder and the abduction of her children. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces a potential sentence of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
