JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The office of Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has attempted to serve a subpoena 10 times to former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, leading up to last week’s announcement of the delayed audit.

Fitzpatrick said in a news release last week that auditors have tried to contact Gardner for several months to complete the audit. Her whereabouts are unknown to his office, according to the statement.

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The auditor’s office confirmed with FOX 2 on Wednesday that it tried to issue 10 subpoenas to Gardner, all unsuccessfully. An office spokesperson had no further updates regarding the audit or efforts to track Gardner down.

Gardner, a Democrat, stepped down last May as the city’s chief prosecutor after several legal battles and calls to resign. She faces frequent criticism by Republican leaders, who have cited low rates of convictions for violent crimes and high office turnover. Gardner was first elected in 2016, becoming the city’s first Black circuit attorney.

Fitzpatrick said his predecessor, Democrat Nicole Galloway, first sought records from Gardner’s office in 2021 when the St. Louis Board of Aldermen requested a citywide audit. He said he served a subpoena on Gardner last year that resulted in some requested documents but not others.

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He said state auditors have reached out to Gardner’s lawyers, made daily calls to phone numbers believed to be associated with her and contacted former co-workers in efforts to reach her.

The St. Louis NAACP shared a statement last week with FOX 2 in which the organization described the delay as “a shocking display of bureaucratic inertia” and “procedural mismanagement.” The NAACP says the auditor’s delays raise “serious concerns about transparency and accountability within the state’s legal system.”

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