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 Lynn 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 claims that he checked the areas around their farm where Lynn would normally be as well as the gravel pathways and roads leading to their farmhouse, and left the farm on multiple times that morning before his son called the police. Kerry never called the police. Despite his claims, law enforcement now confirms that he is refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The last known communication Lynn had with anyone other than her husband Kerry was a phone call she made at 11:30pm on the night of July 7. 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, and there was no indication of a break-in or struggle of any kind, leading police to believe that she hadn't been abducted. Neither the police nor 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. It was later revealed that Lynn Messer had left a note prior to her disappearance, but the note's contents have yet to be released to the public. Kerry Messer has said only that "It was some kind of note of finality, but I don't know what that means and to this day I don't understand it." 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 believe that her husband Kerry might be responsible for her disappearance. Although Kerry claims that he has been cleared by law enforcement for lack of evidence, law enforcement confirms that he has not been cleared. Kerry remains the main suspect. One theory suggests that Kerry, a conservative Christian lobbyist for the traditional family structure, may have killed Lynn so that he could pursue a romantic relationship with personal 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, and admits to a physical relationship with her. Law enforcement confirms that Spring admitted to them that she and Kerry were in an existing relationship six weeks after Lynn's disappearance. Since then Spring has refused to cooperate with the investigation. Other family members have described Kerry's behavior around Spring in the years leading up to Lynn's disappearance as "inappropriate". 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. To further complicate Kerry's claims, he only went out to search for his wife on four occasions in the last two years. Other rumors suggest that Lynn could have been the victim of foul play from people who disagreed with the Messers' conservative political lobbying, but Kerry doesn't believe this is true, stating that nothing they were involved in would cause foul play. Suicide: According to Kerry and Lynn's son Abram, Lynn was suicidal in the months prior to her disappearance. According to Abram, Lynn at one point had gone into the family's barn to commit suicide, but instead turned the gun on the family's cats. Abram has said that his father has minimized his mother's depression throughout the investigation. 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.