Autopsy Today on Woman’s Body; Charges Planned Against Suspect in Custody

By Stan Finger, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Jan. 10–An autopsy is scheduled today in Wichita on a body that residents of Arkansas City and Cowley County fear is Jodi Sanderholm, the 19-year-old college student who has been missing since Friday afternoon.

A woman’s body was recovered early Tuesday morning in rural southeast Cowley County, and Sanderholm’s black Dodge Stratus was pulled from the Cowley State Fishing Lake Tuesday afternoon.

The Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center will be conducting the autopsy, interim Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace said in a prepared statement. Detectives from the Arkansas City Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will attend the autopsy to identify the body and recover evidence.

Arkansas City police are working in conjunction with the Cowley County attorney’s office to prepare charges against a suspect already in custody on unrelated charges, Wallace said.

Police are investigating the possibility that more than one person may have been involved in Sanderholm’s disappearance.

Authorities from several agencies are processing three crime scenes: the Cowley State Fishing Lake, the location where the woman’s body was found, and Sanderholm’s car.

They are also following up on any leads related to Sanderholm’s disappearance.

“This will continue until police feel every piece of information about this case has been identified and recorded,” Wallace said.

Anyone who has information they believe will be helpful to the case is asked to call 620-441-4444 or 800-KSCRIME.

Check Kansas.com for updates.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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