Biological Mom in Custody After Girl's Burned Bones Are Found in Rural Area

TIME Staff
Updated
The adopted teen had recently come to live with her

(THEODOSIA, Mo.) — Authorities say the biological mother of a 16-year-old girl whose burned remains were found in rural Missouri is jailed on a 24-hour investigative hold.

The jail administrator in Ozark County says the woman was taken into custody at 3 p.m. Monday but not arrested. No charges have been filed.

The public defender’s office in a nearby county was meeting with the mother. The office didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed announced Monday that burned bones found near the woman’s property were those of Savannah Leckie, who was raised by her adoptive family in Minnesota. In a statement Tuesday, Reed says the investigation has “intensified” and that arrests are expected.

Savannah was living in Longrun, Missouri, with her biological mother and the woman’s boyfriend before she disappeared in late July. The mother and boyfriend wed on Aug. 4, the same day the remains were found.