Husband is person of interest, not suspect, in local woman's disappearance

When Jacque Sue Waller left her sister's Ste. Genevieve, Mo., home June 1, she was the happiest her family had seen her in months.

A year had passed since the mother of triplets had first announced she wanted a divorce, but Wednesday she planned to finally file the papers in Cape Girardeau.

"She felt like everything was falling into place. She was so excited to get moved back here and back home," said Cheryl Brenneke, Waller's sister.

Clay Waller, seen here in a 2004 Southeast Missourian photo.

The divorce papers were never filed, and Waller was reported missing late Wednesday by her family.

On Monday, police named Clay Waller, her estranged husband, as the person of interest connected to her disappearance. Jacque Waller, 39, was last seen in Jackson in the area of Woodland Drive and North Neal Street.

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad, which has been investigating her disappearance since Thursday, said Sunday that foul play is suspected.

While Clay Waller isn't a suspect in any crime at this time, he was the last person to see Waller before she was reported missing, Lt. David James, case squad commander, said Monday at a news conference. Authorities have not identified any other persons of interest.

"We're lacking details and information about her movements after having met with her husband. She went there to pick up their third child," James said.

Their child was at a baby sitter's home, James said, which, along with talk of divorce proceedings, spurred an argument among the couple married for 17 years. The other two triplets were with family in Ste. Genevieve.

James said Clay Waller is still in the area and that police have been aware of his whereabouts. He has been questioned and is in regular contact with police, although he has not been ordered to remain in the area.

"He's not a suspect in a crime, he's a person of interest," James said. "I don't have information that would suggest he would hurt anybody. People have rights, and we respect their rights, but we also know Mrs. Waller has rights and wants to be found."

Clay Waller told the major case squad his estranged wife left his residence at 1121 Woodland Drive, where he had been staying, on foot around 4 p.m. after their argument.

James said Clay Waller then left the residence and returned around 6 p.m. to find Jacque Waller's blue Honda Pilot gone. Other witnesses interviewed told the case squad they saw her vehicle at his home as late as 8:30 p.m.

Brenneke has said disappearing is out of character for Jacque Waller. She loved her children and she loved her family, her sister said Monday.

"I don't know anything for a fact," Brenneke said. "I do know that my sister would not just go walking down the street when she's got a perfectly good car right there."

Her vehicle was found abandoned with a flat tire on Interstate 55 near Fruitland after her disappearance.

"We're trying to sort these details out. We need help from the public," James said.

Last week Clay Waller's truck was seized by police and processed for evidence, as was a boat. The case squad believes his red truck was at one time pulling the boat. Police also searched the area around the house where he was staying last week, including a pond.

"There's a period of time we don't know where the boat was or where he was, so anybody that might have seen the boat attached to the red truck after 4 p.m. Wednesday, it would be helpful to have that information," James said.

Jacque Waller's family said she and her husband, a former Cape Girardeau County deputy, separated in March and she'd been living in Ste. Genevieve with Brenneke since.

"She was scared of him. She always told us he's not stable," said Brenneke, who with her husband were given custody of Jacque Waller's 5-year-old triplets Friday.

Family was the first to report Jacque Waller missing around 11 p.m. Wednesday, and Clay Waller reported her disappearance to Jackson police shortly after midnight, James said.

Waller worked as a deputy for seven years and up until December co-owned Triple C Construction in Marble Hill, Mo., with Marsha Steger. The two started the business in 2006, handling mostly general contracting work. Last year, the two switched their focus to road construction and were hired for a project on Route W.

"That ended the company. We went broke on that job," Steger said Monday.

While Steger added she knew little about Clay Waller's personal life, he was skilled in contracting work. He is intelligent, she said, and could learn "just about anything." She last spoke with him about two weeks ago to tie up some loose ends with their business.

In 2004, Clay Waller was one of nine running for a seat on the Cape Girardeau County Commission. Jay Purcell was voted to fill the open seat. In 2005, he ran for an open city council seat but failed to qualify as a candidate because he didn't submit enough valid signatures on his nominating petition.

Attempts to contact Clay Waller were unsuccessful.

Police are still hoping anyone with information on the case, such as where and what time they may have seen either of the vehicles or the boat connecting to Jacque Waller's disappearance, will come forward.

On Monday, the case squad was preparing fliers that they planned to post at stops along Interstate 55, where her SUV was found abandoned.

"We've got to start branching out. Travelers going up and down the interstate may have seen her vehicle," James said.

The major case squad, activated since Thursday, usually investigates a case for 72 hours but has extended its operations because of the circumstances of the case.

"We can continue to extend that as long as necessary," Jackson police chief James Humphreys said.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

1121 Woodland Drive, Jackson, MO

525 S. Hope St., Jackson, MO