Major case squad disbands, but police still seek leads in Waller case

Twelve days ago Jacque Sue Waller was ready to begin a new life with her 5-year-old triplets.

She left Ste. Genevieve, Mo., for Jackson on June 1 with intentions to only be gone a short time, but Saturday Waller's family was still without many of the answers they are searching for.

Authorities, however, are still searching for those answers and the woman last seen in the area of Woodland Drive and North Neal Street in Jackson. Her estranged husband, Clay Waller, was named June 6 as a person of interest in Jacque Waller's disappearance.

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad activated June 2 to begin investigating the missing person case, but made the decision to disband at 6 p.m. Friday. They'll still have assistance from all agencies that make up the major case squad, Jackson police chief James Humphreys said, and will still be consulting the FBI for help in the case.

The search continues in the area she was last seen and near Interstate 55, near mile marker 105, where her blue Honda Pilot was found abandoned with a flat tire. The investigation has slowed some, though, as police wait to see elements important to the case, such as Waller's phone records, according to Humphreys.

"Some of those things are evidentiary things that I really can't discuss," he said.

Investigators will likely have new leads to work starting Monday, he added.

"We can pick back up anytime -- once something more develops, once something major breaks," Humphreys said.

Authorities are still unsure of Jacque Waller's whereabouts after 4 p.m. June 1. Clay Waller, in his only interview with police, said Jacque Waller left his temporary residence on Woodland Drive on foot after the two argued over their pending divorce. She'd been in Jackson that day to finalize proceedings and pick up her son.

Clay Waller said he left after his wife left on foot and returned around 6 p.m. to find her SUV gone. Other witnesses, though, have said they saw her Pilot parked in his driveway as late as 8:30 p.m. Authorities continue to encourage the public to call the Jackson Police Department if they saw Waller or her SUV after 4 p.m. Also, they're asked to call with information on the whereabouts of a red GMC Sierra that may have been hauling a fishing boat on a black trailer the day Jacque Waller went missing. The truck, belonging to Clay Waller, and the boat were seized June 3 as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information should call the Jackson Police Department at 243.3151.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Woodland Drive and North Neal Street, Jackson, MO