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Man arrested in connection with girl's death
McCOOK, Nebraska -- The body of a young girl discovered on cemetery property northwest of Bartley, Nebraska, Friday evening has been identified as that of Kailee Nichole Clapp, a 14-year-old McCook girl reported missing early Friday morning.
An 18-year-old Bartley, Nebraska, man has been jailed since late Friday in connection with Clapp's disappearance and death. Charges against Stathis Sebastian Mobley Kirkpatrick, 18, of Bartley, are pending the results of an autopsy being conducted in Omaha.
Kailee Clapp, a freshman at McCook Senior High, went missing through the night of Thursday and Friday. Her mother, Nora, said she last saw her youngest daughter about 9:30 p.m., Thursday, and that Kailee's sister, Karen, who turned 18 years old Saturday, saw her about 10:30 p.m., Thursday. Kailee was not in her bedroom the next morning before school.
Nora contacted McCook police at 7:11 a.m., Friday, and McCook police investigated the girl's disappearance throughout the day, according to a press release from the McCook Police Department Saturday morning.
McCook Police Chief Ike Brown told the Gazette about 9:30 a.m., Friday morning that his department did not believe there was any criminal involvement in Kailee Clapp's disappearance.
Late Friday afternoon, a person of interest, an 18-year-old Bartley man. was identified and questioned. Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood said this morning that the man, Stathis S.M. Kirkpatrick, was detained by police late Friday; Kirkpatrick did not turn himself him, Wood said.
Late Friday evening, McCook police officials discovered a body they believed to be Kailee's at the Bartley Cemetery. The body was taken Saturday for an autopsy in Omaha.
Wood said that at this time, it does not appear anyone else is involved. The investigation continues, he said.
Kirkpatrick remains in jail in McCook this morning. He will be arraigned in Red Willow County Court in the McCook courthouse, before Judge Anne Paine, Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
Involved in the investigation are the McCook police, the Red Willow County Sheriff's Office, the Nebraska State Patrol and the FBI Evidence Recovery Team.
Kailee is the daughter of Nora and Kelly Clapp of McCook. Memorial services for Kailee are scheduled Thursday, 10:30 a.m., at McCook Memorial Auditorium, West Fifth and C Streets, in McCook. Inurnment will be at a later date.
Nora Clapp said she was "mad as hell -- I hope (the suspect) he gets everything he deserves."
Still, she said, "I want him to have a fair trial," even if it involves moving it somewhere else.
She had high praise for the three officers and detective with the McCook Police Department involved in the case saying they investigated "every tiny lead" and didn't let up until the case was solved.
She also expressed her appreciation for the outpouring of love and concern shown for her and her family.
"The community has been tremendous," she said.