Investigators receive numerous phone calls about Waller case

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad was releasing no new information Thursday afternoon on the disappearance of Jacque Sue Waller, except that police are following up on leads that have surfaced since Monday -- when the team of investigators made a plea for the public's help.

The mother of triplets has not been seen since June 1 in the area of Woodland Drive and North Neal Street in Jackson.

Since Monday the squad has received numerous phone calls after police asked for information from anyone who saw Waller's vehicle between 4 and 8:30 p.m. June 1, Jackson Police Chief James Humphreys said. Waller's blue Honda Pilot was found abandoned on Interstate 55 near the 105 mile marker, several hours after she was first reported missing. The police suspect foul play in her disappearance.

"We're just trying to check anything we can, land or water," Humphreys said.

Investigators are also looking for information on where and when the public may have seen a red GMC Sierra pickup belonging to Jacque Waller's estranged husband Clay Waller and a fishing boat that at one time may have been on a black trailer attached to the truck. The squad seized and searched both the truck and boat last week.

Clay Waller, a former Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department deputy, was named as a person of interest, not a suspect, in his wife's disappearance. Jacque Waller was in Jackson to finalize divorce proceedings and pick up her son from Clay Waller's home on Woodland Drive. He told authorities last week she left from his home on foot after the two argued about their divorce. They'd been married 17 years.

No one has reported seeing Jacque Waller after leaving Clay Waller's temporary residence at 1121 Woodland Drive.

The major case squad will likely be activated until the case is closed, Humphreys said Thursday. Normally, the team is activated for 72 hours but has continued to extend operations due to regular leads developing in the case.

"We just need to keep going as long as we can with as many people as we can," he said.

Check back for updates on this story and photos of a prayer service for Waller in Farmington, Mo., later at www.semissourian.com.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Woodland Drive and North Neal Street, Jackson, MO

1 Black Knight Drive, Farmington, MO