Authorities: Missing Wyoming Teen’s Body Found; Juvenile Arrested
Officials believe they have located the body of a missing Wyoming teen inside a South Dakota home, and a juvenile has been taken into custody with criminal charges pending.
The body, believed to be that Shayna L. Ritthaler, was found Monday inside a basement bedroom at a home in Blucksberg, South Dakota, according to the Meade County, South Dakota Sheriff's Office.
Deputies joined agents from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation in serving a search warrant at the home "based on information received from the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office who had been working with the Deadwood Police Department and the Moorcroft Police Department in Wyoming," the Meade County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
A juvenile suspect was taken into custody and was being held at the Juvenile Services Center in Rapid City. The sheriff's office did not specify the crimes with which that person has been charged and, due to the ages of the people involved, declined to identify the suspect.
An autopsy is set for later this week.
Ritthaler was last seen shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thursday getting into a dark-colored vehicle at the Coffee Cup in Moorcroft.
The Moorcroft Police Department later said it had reason to believe that Ritthaler was in the Lead/Deadwood area. In another update, police said they believed Ritthaler may have been on foot in the area of Sturgis or Deadwood, and had possibly dyed her hair black.
The owner of the vehicle was interviewed and police said the vehicle was "no longer involved" in the investigation.