Rolla Police Department Division of Criminal Investigations

Kidnapping Investigation On September 1, 2019, at approximately 6:55 p.m., officers from the Rolla Police Department responded to a residence located in the 120...0 block of Turkey Run Drive in reference to a check well-being call. Initial information provided by a third party indicated that a male subject was holding a female at gunpoint inside the residence. When officers arrived, they attempted to make contact with the occupants of the residence. While attempting to make contact with the occupants, officers heard a disturbance and a female crying from inside the attached garage. Officers pounded on the garage door and announced police presence, and shortly thereafter a vehicle started up inside the garage and it drove through the garage door almost striking one of the officers. One officer discharged his weapon at the vehicle as it exited the driveway. As the vehicle fled the scene, officers noted that a male and a female individual were occupying the vehicle. A short time later, information was received that a male and female in a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle that had fled this scene had had abandoned their vehicle and stole a vehicle in rural Phelps County. Several minutes later, a Trooper of the Missouri State Highway Patrol located the stolen vehicle on Interstate 44 near St. James and a pursuit began. The pursuit entered the Cuba and Crawford County area during which time the male and female abandoned the stolen vehicle and stole a second vehicle. A short time later they abandoned that vehicle and stole a third vehicle. They then wrecked that vehicle and fled on foot. After a short manhunt, the male and female were captured during an attempted residential burglary in Crawford County. They were taken into custody without further incident. During the course of the follow-up investigation, the suspect was subsequently identified as Timothy Vance, Age 33 of Rolla, and the female was confirmed to have been kidnapped at gunpoint from the residence in Rolla. The female victim was determined to not be an active participant in any of the mentioned incidents. She was subsequently questioned and released. As a result of this investigation, Timothy Vance was arrested and incarcerated in the Crawford County Jail pending the issuance of warrants for his crimes committed in Crawford County, and pending the issuance of warrants on charges in Phelps County which include 1st Degree Kidnapping, 1st Degree Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Armed Criminal Action, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The charges that Timothy Vance have been arrested for are mere accusations. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented to a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. If anyone has any information regarding this incident, you are asked to contact Detective Adam Meyer with Rolla Police Department’s Division of Criminal Investigations Unit at (573) 308-1213. You can also remain anonymous by calling the Rolla Police Department’s Confidential Tip Line at (573) 364-0111. Other agencies assisting in this investigation were the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri S&T Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department, Cuba Police Department, and the Sullivan Police Department.

Update: Ashlyn has been found and is safe. Have you seen me???? Ashlyn Henson, age 13 of Rolla was last seen on foot near the Rolla Junior High School after sch...ool today and did not make it home. She was last seen wearing a black colored hoodie, black colored jeans, and white tennis shoes. If you have seen her or know her whereabouts, please contact Det/Sgt. Harper the Rolla Police Department at (573) 308-1213 See more

SPENSER FARR GUILTY OF THREE COUNTS OF STATUTORY SODOMY On Wednesday, a Phelps County jury found Spenser Farr, 25 of Springfield, guilty of three counts of Sta...tutory Sodomy in the First Degree. The Honorable John D. Beger presided over the trial which last three days. The case was prosecuted by Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney, Brendon Fox. In June of 2017, victim 1 disclosed to his youth pastor that he had been molested by Spenser Farr in a shower at the Rolla Recreation Centre in 2012. The case was investigated by Detective Adam Meyer of the Rolla Police Department. Det. Meyer interviewed the youth pastor and other witnesses before learning that Farr had been accused of touching a different boy at the Steelville Pool, also in 2012. Det. Meyer identified and interviewed that boy, victim 2, who disclosed that Farr had been his swimming lessons instructor and had molested him in the pool. After the allegations came to light in 2012, the father of victim 2 confronted Farr at the pool about it and Farr resigned shortly afterward. The family of victim 2 decided to not pursue the case further due to the stress and impact on him, but when Det. Meyer made contact in 2017 he was older, more mature, and able discuss his experience. Det. Meyer identified another boy, victim 3, who described several incidents at the Steelville Pool in 2012 where he could feel Farr’s erection touching him. He never told anyone until he spoke to Det. Meyer in 2017, but he stopped going to the pool and being around Farr before anything worse could happen. At trial, all three victims testified along with Det. Meyer and some of the victims’ parents who described unexplained changes they observed in their children in 2012. The defense presented evidence from Farr, his parents, another lifeguard, a police officer from Steelville, and other members of the church. The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before returning their verdicts of not guilty on two counts and guilty on the other three. At sentencing, the jury recommended 10 years in prison on two of the counts, and five years in prison on the other. Judge Beger revoked Farr’s bond and ordered a sentencing assessment report. Final sentencing will take place on June 17, 2019 at 10:30AM. Detective Meyer did an outstanding job investigating this case. He spent months chasing down every lead and interviewing everyone who might have had information. Without his tireless efforts for the victims, this conviction would not have happened, said Fox. I want to thank the victims for coming forward. Studies show that at least 1 in 6 men will be victims of sexual abuse at some time in their life. For various reasons, the crime often goes unreported. Victims need not suffer in silence; law enforcement cares and wants to help.

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Investigation In November of 2018, the South Central Computer Crimes Task Force (SCCCTF) initiated an investigation into a report...ed sexual exploitation of a minor incident, which had reportedly been occurring in the Phelps County, Missouri area. A cyber-tip was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NEMEC) that an unidentified individual from Phelps County Missouri had been communicating with a female juvenile from the State of Mississippi over the internet, and that person had been coercing the child into sending photographs of herself in various stages of undress and in the nude to him over the internet. On April 3, 2019, the Rolla Police Department’s Division of Criminal Investigations Unit, the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, and the South Central Computer Crimes Task Force began a joint investigation into the most recent incident. During the course of the follow-up investigation, the suspect was identified as Dillon J. Campbell, age 17 of St. James, Missouri. On April 12, 2019, Dillon J. Campbell, age 17 of St. James was arrested on a warrant from the Circuit Court of Phelps County, Missouri charging him with one count of Possession of Child Pornography, one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Harassment in the 1st Degree. Dillon J. Campbell remains incarcerated in the Phelps County Jail in lieu of a $250,000.00 bond. Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation or anyone having similar experiences are asked to contact Detective Adam Meyer with the Rolla Police Department’s Division of Criminal Investigation Unit at (573) 308-1213. Agencies assisting in this investigation were the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, the South Central Computer Crimes Task Force, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The charges for which Dillon J. Campbell have been charged with are mere accusations. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.