Police in Boulder, Colorado, became involved in a missing person and child abduction case last week after co-workers of Ashley Mead, 25, called to request a welfare check when the woman failed to show up at work.
That call led investigators to determine that Mead was missing, and that her one-year-old daughter had been taken by the girl's father, Adam Densmore, 32.
Police believe Densmore left Boulder last Sunday night and began driving across the country, with stops in Raton, New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, and Haughton, Louisiana. They say he drove from Louisiana to Conway, Arkansas on Tuesday before continuing into Oklahoma on Wednesday. Densmore stopped in Okmulgee before he was arrested Wednesday in Pawnee County, west of Tulsa. The missing child, Winter Daisy Mead, was found with her father and was taken into the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
As for the missing woman, police believe that remains discovered at a Murphy USA gas station in Okmulgee belong to Mead.
According to reports, the torso of a white female was found in a trash bin at the gas station, and while a positive identification is pending the results of the medical examiner's investigation, police have tentatively identified the body as Mead "based on observations made during the examination."
Investigators say they believe the young woman was killed in Boulder and her body dismembered at some point along Densmore's journey--possibly in Shreveport, Louisiana. They say other remains are likely in a purple suitcase deposited somewhere along Densmore's route, and they encourage anyone who sees a suitcase in an "odd location" to avoid touching it and to contact authorities. They believe the rest of her remains have been scattered across the six states through which Densmore traveled after Mead's disappearance Sunday.
Investigators say that Mead and Densmore had an "on-again, off-again" relationship, but that there was no reported history of domestic violence between the two.
The suspect is held on suspicion of first degree murder in the Okmulgee County Jail until he can be returned to Boulder to face charges.
Image credit: Keith Allison
