KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The human remains found in Cass County last week have been identified as Vernece A. Brown, 18, of Kansas City, Missouri.
Mushroom hunters found her on April 27 in the area of South Mopac Road between East 235th and East 239th.
Brown was last seen on Feb. 14 in the 3600 block of Bales Avenue. A map shows that’s near New Horizon Missionary Baptist Church.
At the time, police said she had left her home on Valentine’s Day with an unknown man and hadn’t returned.
Alicia Hyler is Brown's aunt. She describes Brown as a fun-loving teen who would have never willingly stayed away from home.
"From Valentine's Day up until yesterday, we're looking for her. So no longer are we looking for her," said Hyler.
Initially, Kansas City police told 41 Action News they did not suspect foul play. Family members said they've always known something was terribly wrong.
"Of course we thought it was foul play, because she wasn't here with us. To me, if she's not at home with her loved ones, with her family, that's foul play," said Hyler.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release it and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department are working on the investigation into her death. Some of their investigation will focus on Brown's social media footprint prior to her disappearance.
Her death is being called a homicide.
Vernece Brown’s family says they’ve known since February, when she didn’t come home, that something was wrong. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/bdDVMzjj4y
— LisaBenson (@LisaBensonTV) May 3, 2018
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