May 10--Police have confirmed that the body found earlier this week in Alaska is that of a former Raytown resident who has been missing since April 19.
Senior Airman Clinton Reeves has not been seen since leaving his duty assignment on April 19. Anita Shell, spokeswoman for the Anchorage Police Department, said officers notified Reeves' family Wednesday evening. The cause of death has not been determined. An autopsy is being conducted.
Reeves, 22, graduated from Raytown High School in 2007.
On Wednesday, authorities in Alaska accused a fellow airman of evidence tampering.
James Thomas, 24, was charged with six counts of tampering with evidence. A search warrant for his home revealed evidence of a violent incident.
Court records indicated that Thomas gave inconsistent stories to detectives but ended up telling them he found Reeves and an armed man at his home on April 19.
After they left, Thomas said, he tried to clean up blood from the carpet and a couch. He said he threw the bloody towels that he used, as well as a bloody loveseat, in trash bins in a different part of town, according to court documents.
Thomas also said he took his clothes, which had blood on them, to another residence and burned them in the fireplace. He said he also drove Reeves' rental car to another location.
Police said Thomas is a person of interest in Reeves' disappearance. His bond was set at $25,000.
--Glenn E. Rice, [email protected]
Copyright 2012 - The Kansas City Star, Mo.
