KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A man facing charges in the burning of a vehicle belonging to a 21-year-old Missouri woman who has been missing since last week was the subject of a protection order nearly a decade ago by his teenage girlfriend, who accused him of kidnapping and abuse, court records show.
Jessica Runions, 21, was last seen leaving a party Thursday night, and her mother reported her missing the next day. Runions’ car was discovered Saturday in south Kansas City, burned and abandoned. Police are treating her disappearance as a suspicious missing person case.
“We’re all praying every single minute,” Linda Runions said of her granddaughter, who worked in the restaurant of a senior living community in the Kansas City suburb of Raymore. “Just to hear that she’s OK.”
Kylr Yust, 27, was arrested Sunday morning on charges of “knowingly burning” Runions’ vehicle, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kari Thompson said.
Yust was being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. He faced no other charge in Runions’ disappearance and police have released no details about the relationship between them. Mike Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County’s prosecutor, declined to discuss the matter, saying by email only that “the case is now under seal.”
Police spokeswoman Capt. Stacey Graves said she doesn’t know if Yust has an attorney to comment on his behalf.
