On Sunday in Benton County, Missouri, police arrested Kylr Yust (above, right), a man reported to be 27 or 28 years old, in connection with the disappearance of 21-year-old Jessica Runions (above, left) on Thursday night.
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Jessica Runions was last seen on Thursday evening at a house party.
Kylr Yust has been charged in Jackson County with “knowingly burning” in connection to Jessica Runions’ case and auto. Runions’ auto was discovered Saturday in south Kansas City, burned and abandoned.
Captain Stacey Graves, who is with the Kansas City Police Department, stated that they are now concerned for Jessica’s safety after discovering her burnt, unoccupied vehicle.
Yust, 28, was taken into custody on Sunday and charged setting fire to Runions’ Chevy Equinox. He will eventually be transferred to the Jackson County Jail in Kansas City. Investigators haven’t said whether Yust, who is on parole in a drug case, knows the 21-year-old woman. That April 30, 2007, filing alleged Yust kidnapped and restrained the teenager, choked her and threatened to cut her throat during their nine-month relationship. He has not been charged for Runions’ disappearance.
In 2011, Yust’s girlfriend, six months pregnant at the time, filed a personal protection order against him.
“I’m unsure what he will do next, because the abuse has gotten worse over time”, the application for the court intervention read, alleging Yust stalked Kopetsky and inflicted emotional and physical abuse.
Runions was last seen leaving for a party Thursday night.
Runions’ mom reported her missing Friday morning and Runions has not responded to texts and calls from her mom.
On Monday, Kopetsky’s mother, Rhonda Beckford, said her daughter’s relationship with Yust was “volatile”. He is also the same man who dated Kara Kopetsky before she vanished in 2007.
Yust also isn’t charged in her disappearance, though Belton police describe him as a person of interest in the case. Police searched the surrounding area for Jessica, but did not find her. She said Yust warned that if she screamed again he would kill her.
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“Kara was so young and vulnerable and, having such a young heart, she really felt like she loved him”, Beckford told the AP.
