Human remains found in search for missing 17-year-old Valerie Tindall
The video attached is the full press conference from the Rush County Sheriff’s Office.
RUSHVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Human remains have been located on a property in Arlington, Indiana, during the search for missing 17-year-old Valerie Tindall.
Rush County Sheriff Allan Rice made the announcement in a press conference discussing the case on Wednesday afternoon.
Rice said during the conference that during their investigation, officers discovered a body buried on a property belonging to Patrick Scott, who was identified as a person of interest early in Tindall’s disappearance.
The remains have yet to be positively identified.
On Tuesday, dozens of FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies converged on Scott’s home in the 2000 block of North Oak Street in Arlington. A tent was set up on the property, and investigators dressed in protective suits were seen removing items from the home.
Court records show Scott was previously charged with lying to investigators on June 10, the same day the Silver Alert was issued for Tindall. Tindall was 17 when an Indiana Silver Alert was issued.
Scott was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder and booked into the Rush County jail. A court date has not been set yet.
“This was not the outcome we hoped for, but I want to stress to the public, that this case is far from over,” Rice said. “This case is still under investigation to ensure those responsible are successfully prosecuted.”
Shena Sandefur, Valerie’s mother, spoke to I-Team 8’s Richard Essex.
“We just want answers right now,” Sandefur said. “We just want answers as to why? Why would you do this?”
Valerie worked for Scott’s lawn and maintenance company. At one point, she told her mother that Scott installed a tracking device on her phone. Her parents knew something bad happened when Valerie didn’t contact her sisters on their birthday.
“She hadn’t reached out to her best friend or her sisters or anybody,” Sandefur said. “That just told me that something was definitely wrong. She didn’t run away. I didn’t believe that for one minute in my heart, but I wanted to.”
Positive identification of the remains that were buried will come from the Rush County Coroner’s Office in Rushville, Indiana.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Rush County Sheriff’s Office at 765-932-2931.
Arlington is an unincorporated community that’s about a 50-minute drive east of downtown Indianapolis, and seven miles northwest of Rushville.
