Major Case Squad has person of interest, suspects foul play in Waller disappearance

The search for a missing mother of three last seen in Jackson on Wednesday continued Sunday, although a spokesman for the Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad said they've followed up on leads, discovered evidence and developed a person of interest in connection to the woman's disappearance.

Jackson Police Department Lt. Rodney Barnes would not release the name of the person of interest, but did say Sunday the case squad suspects foul play in the disappearance of Jacque Sue Waller.

Waller, 39, was last seen around 5 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Woodland Drive and North Neal Street. The major case squad was activated to investigate her disappearance Thursday. A number of circumstances triggered the case squad's activation, including the disappearance being out of character for the mother of triplets. Her vehicle, a blue Honda Pilot, was also found abandoned on Interstate 55.

Her sister, Cheryl Brenneke, said at a prayer service Saturday that Waller would never pick up and leave her children. Waller had been living with Brenneke in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., since March and had come to Cape Girardeau to file for divorce from her estranged husband, Clay Waller, before going missing.

On Friday, the case squad announced it found a boat it had connected to Waller's disappearance. The squad also found Clay Waller's vehicle, a 2009 GMC Sierra pickup truck, at a residence he was staying at in the 1100 block of Woodland Drive. Clay Waller is a former Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputy.

Barnes wouldn't comment on whether they are searching for Clay Waller, only that they have a person of interest.

"I can only give out what is approved through the major case squad," he said.

Although the vehicles and the boat have been located, Barnes said the case squad is seeking information from the public and whether they may have seen them in the area where Waller was last seen.

"This vehicle may have been pulling an aluminum V-bottom with an 8-horse Johnson motor on a black trailer," he said in an official news release.

The case squad is also seeking information from anyone who may have seen Waller's Honda Pilot and who was driving the vehicle after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information should call Jackson police at 243-3151.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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