Missing woman's van found, body nearby

Laverla R. Kistler
Laverla R. Kistler

The body of 77-year-old Laverla Kistler, a Cooper County resident with ties to California, has been found in Benton County nearly a month after she was last seen.

The Benton County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday that Kistler's van silver KIA Sedona minivan was found in a remote area in Benton County. A woman's body was found nearby and is awaiting an autopsy to confirm the identity and cause of death. A dog matching the description of Kistler's dog was found alive in the same area.

Kistler was a Cooper County resident with ties to Moniteau County and a California mailing address. According to family members, she did not make it home from a shopping trip June 10 in California, when she was seen at Orscheln's and Cal's Thriftway, two of her regular stops.

A Silver Advisory was issued by Cooper County as soon as it was known she was missing. To help with the search, a Facebook page called "Looking for Laverla" was set up by her son, Jim, to use social media to keep people searching.

Cooper County Sheriff Jerry Wolfe said without any leads, all that could really be done was to expand the search area outward with information to other jurisdictions. Apparently that led to the discovery of the van and the body about 80 miles from her home.