A burnt SUV was found in Kansas City on Saturday, and now police are searching for its driver, who has been missing since Thursday. Jessica Runions, 21, was last seen in the SUV on Thursday night, according to Kansas City police.
“Just locating her vehicle in that condition—that’s just suspicious in nature and we’re concerned for her welfare,” police spokeswoman Captain Stacey Graves told KSHB.
Runion’s aunt, Michele, told KSHB that Jessica was seen leaving a party on Thursday accompanied by Kylr Yust, her boyfriend’s friend. Her boyfriend had left the party early, leaving Runions behind with Yust.
In an update on the case, KSHB News revealed that Yust has been arrested in connection with Runions’ dissapearance. He is being held on a $50,000 bond.
This isn’t the first time Yust has been connected with a disappearance. In 2007, his ex-girlfriend Kara Kopetsky filed a restraining order against him after making accusations of domestic violence, then disappeared. Yust was never charged in the case, and Kopetsky was never found. Additionally in 2011, Yust’s girlfriend, who was six months pregnant at the time, claimed that Yust assaulted her, causing her to lose consciousness. She claims he admitted to having “killed ex-girlfriends out of jealousy,” according to KSHB. Yust’s record also includes animal cruelty (for killing two of his 2011 girlfriend’s kittens), stealing from a tattoo shop, and drug trafficking.
“It’s out of character—her not calling, not responding,” said Michele Runions, Jessica’s aunt. “We just want her home safe.”