Authorities asking for public help in finding missing Dexter woman

DEXTER, Mo. — Authorities continue to search for a Dexter woman who has been missing for a week.

According to detective Cory Mills with the Dexter Police Department, Crystal Marie Brown-Hart was last seen April 9 in the Dexter and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, areas. Brown-Hart’s family made a missing person’s report April 11 to Butler County authorities. The investigation was subsequently turned over to the Dexter Police Department.

Mills said Brown-Hart arrived at a residence in Poplar Bluff on Township Line Road on April 9. Brown-Hart then phoned a friend in Dexter at approximately 2:30 a.m. April 10 and said she was coming back to Dexter because she had to go to work at 6 a.m. The friend told authorities Brown-Hart seemed confused and disoriented on the phone.

She left alone driving a black, four-door Mitsubishi Lancer with a possible Missouri registration of XB2D3M, witnesses said.

A witness at the residence in Poplar Bluff stated Brown-Hart left between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Mills said her phone’s last recorded ping was at the Butler County and Stoddard County line. The phone shut off at approximately 4:10 a.m. April 10. Mills emphasized the pings are not reliable. The ping means her cellphone signal hit a cell tower, but it could be 15 miles away. Also, this does not mean Brown-Hart was in the same location as her phone.

Mills stated the Butler County Sheriff’s Department performed a thorough search of the residence in Poplar Bluff and nothing belonging to Brown-Hart was found. The Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol have assisted with the search.

The highway patrol searched the area with a helicopter in an effort to locate the vehicle. The water patrol also sent divers into the St. Francis River to search for Brown-Hart and her vehicle, with no success.

Mills said there is no evidence of foul play, but they have not ruled it out. Mills said they have followed up on 36 leads and interviewed numerous possible witnesses. Mills also said the possibility exists she does not want to be found.

Mills said there have been multiple sightings reported in the Malden, Missouri, and Poplar Bluff areas, none of which could be confirmed as Brown-Hart. He said the department investigated a sighting in a Malden bar. However, after reviewing the security footage, it was determined it was not Brown-Hart.

Mills also said a residence on Route J near Puxico, Missouri, was searched but nothing was found to indicate Brown-Hart had been there prior to or after her disappearance.

Brown-Hart, 39, is described as 4-feet, 11-inches tall weighing 100 pounds.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact Mills at the Dexter Police Department at (573) 624-5512.