Jennifer Hicks: Missing Kentucky Woman’s Body Found After Arrest Warrant Issued [Updated]

Jennifer Hicks, a 31-year-old Kentucky woman reported missing on February 9, has been found dead according to reports. The West Kentucky Star reports that the missing mother’s body was found Thursday afternoon after a weeks-long search. A witness to the scene of the discovery reported that he saw a car matching the description of Jennifer Hicks’ Pontiac G6 being towed from a storage facility in Calloway County.

Jennifer Hicks was first reported missing on February 10, after not having been seen since noon the day before, reports WPSD, a local news outlet. At that point, the police had little information and few leads to go on, only the make, model, and color of Hicks’ car.

By February 11, authorities were still trying to piece together the details of her disappearance, reports Kentucky New Era. At that time, none of Jennifer Hicks’ family had heard from her, and authorities had no luck tracking her cell phone, Calloway County Sheriff Sam Steger told the media. Two days after going missing, there was no sign of Jennifer Hicks; however, police didn’t suspect foul play in her disappearance.

“The family hasn’t heard anything from her. We haven’t seen anything. Nothing. This is one that’s very strange. We’ve also tried tracking her cell phone but we haven’t had any response from that. We don’t know if that means her phone was turned off or if the battery ran down but it’s not looking like that’s going to help us on this.”

Then, on February 17, a week after Jennifer Hicks was reported missing, a bombshell was dropped in the case, reports WPSD. An arrest warrant was issued for the missing mother by the Kentucky State Police, along with the word from investigators that they felt as though Jennifer was no longer in Calloway County.

The State Police issued the warrant against Jennifer Hicks based upon a complaint from her employer, Lake Chem Community Federal Credit Union. She was charged with theft over $10,000. According to Sheriff Steger, the decision to issue the warrant for Jennifer Hicks’ arrest was a “collective” one, and it “wasn’t taken lightly.”

He went on to explain that there is nothing illegal about an adult running away. However, in this case, if there was no warrant and Jennifer Hicks was found safe, she couldn’t be compelled to return home. Upon issuing the arrest warrant, state authorities ensured that she would be detained and returned to Calloway County if she was found.

At that point, investigators told the media that they were getting a “better idea of what could have happened to her.”

“Our evidence doesn’t show that there is an abductor here. Our evidence more tends to show that maybe she has gotten away for a minute, maybe to gather her thoughts or whatever, and we hope she comes back safely.”

At that point in the investigation into the Jennifer Hicks missing person case, police told the local media that they’d searched the entirety of the east side of the county (an area with which Hicks was “familiar,” according to law enforcement), as well as searched Kentucky Lake by boat.

About the arrest warrant, Sheriff Steger said that he hoped it wasn’t something that would scare Jennifer Hicks away from coming home.

“It’s not the end of the world.”

The CEO of Lake Chem Community Federal Credit Union also released a statement.

“Lake Chem Community Federal Credit Union has discovered irregularities in some of its records which may affect the accuracy of year end reports of some of our members. We currently are in the process of correcting those records and issuing any necessary amendments to reports. Lake Chem does not anticipate financial loss to either Lake Chem or any of its members as a result of these irregularities.”

According to the most recent reports by WPSD, as of Thursday evening, police and authorities are still on the scene of the Calloway County location where Jennifer Hicks’ body has been found. Included among those authorities are State Troopers, members of the Calloway County Sheriff’s department, and the Murray City Police Department, as well as officials from Calloway County Coroner’s Office.

At this early stage, no details regarding the nature of Jennifer Hicks’ death have been released, but updates are expected as soon as they become available.

***Update***

Jennifer Hicks’ cause of death has been released. Local news outlet WPSD reports that the 31-year old mother committed suicide; she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The coroner involved in the case believes that Jennifer Hicks may taken her own life on February 9, the day she went missing.

Authorities received a tip regarding the potential whereabouts of the missing mother’s body, but have not released the name of the tipster. When media asked the authorities whether the storage units where her body was found had been previously searched, police advised that they’d had no reason to believe that Jennifer may have been at that location.

[Image Courtesy Of Jennifer Hicks/Calloway County Sheriff/Facebook]