Photo: Rush County Sheriff's Department
The case of a missing teenager from Indiana has come to a tragic end. Valerie Tindall, 17, was last seen alive on June 7. After nearly six months of searching, her body was found in a barrel buried on her neighbor's property.
"This is not the outcome we had all hoped for, but I want to stress to the public that this case is far from over. Justice will be sought," Rush County Sheriff Allan Rice said.
Rice said that Tindall's neighbor, 59-year-old Patrick Scott, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder. He was previously charged in relation to Tindall's disappearance for providing false information to police.
Officials did not say how Tindall died.
Tindall's mother was shocked to learn that Scott was suspected of killing her daughter. Shena Sandefur told WRTV that Scott was like family to Valerie.
"Her and him had a bond like they were friends," Sandefur told the news station. "She [Valerie] worked for him, but she also hung out with his family, like his granddaughter was her friend, and we went places with them."