Remains Found in Park Believed to Be Missing Chinese Woman

Missouri law enforcement personnel aided by the United States Geological Survey team use imaging sonar to try to locate the body of Mengqi Ji Elledge near Columbia, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2019. Don Shrubshell/Columbia Daily Tribune via AP

COLUMBIA, Mo.—Missouri authorities say they believe that human remains first spotted by someone out walking in a state park Thursday afternoon are the body of a Chinese woman who has been missing since October 2019.

The skeletal remains, some clothing, a driver’s license and some credit cards with Mengqi Ji Elledge’s name on them were found in a remote area of Rock Bridge State Park in Boone County. Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones announced the findings Thursday evening.