Crime & Safety

Authorities Believe Body of Kathlynn Shepard Found in Des Moines River

Authorities held a news conference late on Friday night, announcing they believe a body found in the Des Moines River near Ogden is Kathlynn Shepard.

Shepard, 15, was abducted with a 12-year-old girl after getting dropped off by her school bus near Dayton on May 20.

The second girl escaped from a hog confinement where authorities believe suspect Michael Klunder took them. Klunder took his own life.

KCRG reports that "the body was found south of Ogden under the Kate Shelley Bridge on the Des Moines River in debris in the river."

An autopsy will confirm the identity.

"We were robbed of some innocence in this whole thing and it will never be quite the same," Webster County Sheriff James Stubbs said, according to KCCI. "Hopefully time will heal some of these wounds but the awareness is definitely a lot higher."

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