Disappearance of Lynn Messer

Lynn Marie Messer is an American woman who disappeared from her and her husband's farmhouse in Bloomsdale, Missouri in the early hours of July 8, 2014. Her disappearance generated both national and international news coverage, with some news sources even calling her "a real life Gone Girl". Her case remains unsolved. Disappearance: At approximately 4:00 a.m. on July 8, 2014, Kerry Messer woke up to find that his wife Lynne wasn't in bed beside him. He looked around the house for her, noticing that Lynn's personal belongings - including her ID, passport, wallet, cell phone, car keys, and the walking boot she used to help protect her broken toe - were all still in the house. Kerry then checked the areas around their farm where Lynn would normally be as well as the gravel pathways and roads leading to their farmhouse, and when he was unable to find her he called the police. Investigation: Police quickly classified Lynn as an "endangered person", given the fact that she had a broken toe at the time and left without her walking boot, leading police to believe that she may have found herself in physical danger. Both local police and the public organized search parties to try to find Lynn, and when that proved unsuccessful, Search and Rescue, K-9 Teams, highway patrol, and even the FBI were called in to locate her. The Messer farmhouse was meticulously searched, but yielded no clues - no footprints were found, and there was no indication of a break-in or struggle of any kind, leading police to believe that she hadn't been abducted. The search dogs did pick up Lynn's scent, but because dogs can detect scents from 3–4 months in the past, this didn't prove to be a helpful clue. Neither the police or Kerry believed that Lynn had decided to run away from home; she hadn't taken any personal belongings with her, she appeared to enjoy her marriage and family life, and she had recently been discussing exciting future plans such as holidays and Bible classes. In the months following Lynn's disappearance, over 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of land were searched, missing posters were posted in Ste. Genevieve county and its surrounding counties, and a Facebook page was set up in order to try and find her. Police sorted through tips that were coming in, but none of the tips provided any useful leads. As hunting season approached, Kerry and the police urged hunters to be on the lookout for anything suspicious in the woods, and to report anything they found to police. Some people reported that they had seen women who looked like they could be Lynn, but when police investigated the tips further, they found that they were cases of mistaken identity. The police are still searching for leads, but to this day have been unable to uncover any information about Lynn's whereabouts. Theories- Murder: As is common in cases of wives vanishing, both the police and the public initially believed that her husband Kerry might be responsible for her disappearance. Although the police later discounted Kerry's involvement for lack of evidence, members of the public continued to accuse him of murdering Lynne. One rumor suggested that Kerry, a conservative Christian lobbyist for the traditional family structure, may have killed Lynn so that he could pursue a romantic relationship with family friend Spring Thomas. Although Kerry has maintained that he is still loyal to Lynn, he has also admitted that he does feel affection for Spring, who had reportedly been uncooperative with the investigation. Others criticized Kerry for not offering a reward for finding Lynn, speculating that the lack of reward indicated that Kerry had no real desire to find his wife. Other rumors suggest that Lynn could have been the victim of foul play from people who disagreed with the Messer's conservative political lobbying, but Kerry doesn't believe this is true, stating that nothing they were involved in would cause foul play. Adverse Reaction to Medication: Kerry's own theory is that Lynn vanished due to a reaction to recently prescribed pain medication that may have left her feeling disoriented and confused. Kerry explained that Lynn had been suffering from hip pain for over a decade, and had recently undergone hip surgery. However the pain quickly returned after surgery, and doctors told Lynn that there was no possibility of an additional surgery to cure it, instead prescribing her with new pain medication. Kerry believes that the medication may have caused Lynn to go into a state of psychosis or disorientation, resulting in her leaving their home. He also contends that the pills may have caused a long-term mental reaction, such as memory loss, causing Lynn to have forgotten about her family and her identity. Some news reports stated that Lynn was also suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, but Kerry has denied these allegations.