Kansas City Police Department

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

CUE Center for Missing Persons 

Greater Kansas City CrimeStoppers

Very little information is known about Jody Ledkins; a 14-year-old teenager living in an unstable home, who went missing in 1985. Because she was enrolled in the system as a juvenile offender on probation, her case worker filed  two warrants, listing Jody as an endangered juvenile who should be detained by authorities if she was spotted. Unbeknownst to her mother, Karen Stratton, a missing persons case was not filed which severely impacted her case. She was not listed as missing until 1987. More is known about her last known whereabouts, than of her life as a whole.


Jody was last seen at her boyfriend's house in the 700 block of Cambridge Street in Kansas City, Missouri on May 23, 1985.They’d had an argument based on her wanting to go somewhere with him and his friends, and them refusing to let her. Jody then walked to a friend's residence near east 14th Street and Winchester Avenue. At 10:00 p.m., she called her mother, Karen Stratton, and asked for a ride home to their residence on the 6800 block of east Topping Street. Stratton did not have her car and Jody told her she had friends who could give her a ride. When she left her friend's house, her friend assumed she was going back to her boyfriend's. She was last seen walking northbound on Winchester from 14th Street. She was never heard from again. She did not take any money or extra clothing with her when she disappeared. 


After her disappearance, Karen Stratton contacted her caseworker and mistakenly assumed that when they filed the warrants, they also filed a missing child report with law enforcement; they had not. This miscommunication delayed the investigation and viable clues and leads were all but gone by the time a formal investigation began in 1987. She has a small mole under her chin, a large mark under her arm, and her appendix has been removed.


Jody's probation officer received a letter about four years after Jody was last seen. The writer claimed to be Jody and said she was doing well and one day she might say why she decided to leave. Jody’s mom compared the handwriting with a previous letter Jody had written her probation officer, but was unable to determine whether or not the handwriting was a match.


In 1993, Karen Stratton got a series of threatening phone calls at her home that occurred over a two year period. The caller(s) demanded money in exchange for Jody's safe return and at one point threatened to send Jody's body to her "in pieces." Stratton began recording the calls and sent them to the police, who traced them to a Kansas City phone booth, but the caller(s) were never identified. In 1997, two prison mages claimed to have information about Jody’s case. The police dragged the Missouri River as a result, but they did not discover anything. Their tip didn’t lead to any viable information, but it compelled the Kansas City Police Department to reclassify Jody's case as a probable homicide.


Karen Stratton now lives in Arkansas but visits Kansas City a few times every year to search for her daughter. She stated that their home life in 1985 was dysfunctional and that she get along with Jody’s father. Karen believes is  possible that her daughter deliberately chose to leave. Investigators have also considered that theory, but they think that whatever the cause of Jody's disappearance, something might have happened that jeopardized her safety. Jody's case remains unsolved.


At the time of her disappearance, Jody Lee Ledkins was described as 5'1 inches tall, weighing 90lbs, and having blonde/brown hair and blue eyes. Jody has a small mole under her chin, a large birthmark under one of her arms, an appendectomy scar on her abdomen, and wore large round glasses. Today, Jody would be 50-years-old. 

Karen, Jody's mom, explained in an interview that Jody had skipped school with a friend the day of her disappearance, which was not unlike her. Jody had previously gotten in trouble for skipping school, and for a prior run-in with a security guard, and was assigned deputy juvenile probation officer. 

According to Karen Stratton, Jody had spent the afternoon and evening at her friend, Melissa's home in Kansas City. 

Jody spends the afternoon at a friend's house

At some point that evening, the two had made the 14-minute walk to Jody's boyfriend's house. According to Karen Stratton, Jody had arguments with her friends and boyfriend at some point that day when she wanted to go to an unknown location with them, and they declined. 

Jody and Melissa walk to Jody's boyfriend's house

At some point, Jody and Melissa leave the boyfriend's home and walk back to Melissa's house. 

After spending some time back at Melissa's friend's house, Jody called her mother at around 10PM to ask her for a ride home. Her mother did not have access to a car at the time, Jody explained that she would find another ride to their home on the 6800 block of east Topping Street. 

Shortly after, Jody leaves Melissa's house on foot, and was seen for the last time walking northbound on Winchester Avenue from 14th street. Jody did not take any extra clothing or money with her when she disappeared. 

Melissa later told investigators that she believed that Jody was going to walk back to her boyfriend's house, but later told them that she believed Jody was going to walk home. 

The next morning, when Karen realizes that Jody did not make it home the night before, she contacts Jody's DJO, or her Deputy Juvenile Officer, to report her missing. The DJO explains to her mother that Jody could've been upset about something, possibly trouble in her family life, and suggested that they give her the weekend to cool off. 

Karen contacts Judy's deputy juvenile probation officer

These warrants listed Jody as an 'endangered juvenile who should be taken into police custody if found'. Even though they were filed, the juvenile courts failed to notify police about Jody's disappearance. 

Two years after her daughter's disappearance, Karen realizes during a conversation with the caseworker that her daughter had never been reported as missing to the police. This realization and conversation did not take place until after the first warrant was cancelled by the courts in July of 1986. 

Once this realization is made, the investigation into Jody's disappearance begins. 

Karen realizes that Jody is not labeled a missing person

The letter received by the DJO cannot be confirmed to be from Jody. The letter explains that Jody is okay and that 'maybe someday she'll say why she left'. The letter has been compared to a previous letter than Jody sent to her DJO. 

The DJO receives a letter from someone claiming to be Jody

Karen Stratton, Jody's mother, began receiving threatening phone calls in 1993, lasting two years. These calls would includes demands for money in exchange for Jody, and in one case "If we don't get the money, your daughter will be sent to you in pieces". 

She was sure to record all of these phone calls to send to police, who were able to trace them back to a payphone in the Kansas City area, and transcripts were made, but the caller was never identified. 

Karen starts receiving threatening phone calls

Two inmates claimed in 1997 that they had information about Jody's disappearance. These claims led police to drag the Missouri River. They did not find anything of interest during this search, however Jody's missing persons case was reclassified to a probable homicide investigation. 

According to a Kansas City Star article from 1997, investigators had been searching the river looking for "a sunken car with the body of the girl. Prison inmates told police the killer might have stashed her body in a car and driven it into the Missouri River". 

Two prison inmates claim they have information about Jody

The location of the home is now an empty lot. 

Jody was seen for the last time walking northbound on Winchester Avenue from 14th street. Jody did not take any extra clothing or money with her when she disappeared. 

Sources state that when the Missouri River was searched in 1997, they mainly searched the area near Riverfront Park on the outer edge of Kansas City. 

A 14 year old girl disappears after leaving her friend's house

Jody Lee Ledkins was born on September 20, 1970 to Karen Stratton and Melvin Ledkins. Both of her parents explained that they had a good relationship with Jody, explaining that she was "pretty much a good little girl". Jody's mother, Karen, describes her daughter as a trusting teenager, and as the friend that everyone leaned on for support. Jody had a passionate interest in outer space, and wanted to be an astronaut at one point in her life. 


Karen explained in a Kansas City Star article released in 1994 that she had been doing poorly in school, and had been skipping school frequently, most likely due to her having trouble adjusting. Jody's family had moved four times before her disappearance, and her parents divorced in 1981, only to get back together once Karen was divorced a second time, leading to a tense family life. 

Has a mole under her chin, a large birthmark under one arm, and an appendectomy scar on her abdomen. Jody also wore glasses at the time of her disappearance. 

Jody's mother. Has been a strong advocate in the search for her daughter, despite receiving threatening phone calls an having a slow start to the investigation into her daughter's disappearance. 

Jody's best friend. Had spent the evening with Jody the night of her disappearance. Melissa told investigators that she believed that Jody was going to walk back to her boyfriend's house, but later told them that she believed Jody was going to walk home. Karen also mentions in an interview Melissa once told investigators that Jody had told her that she was going to walk down the road, where she would meet her mother to pick her up. 

Jody's boyfriend. He had spent time with Jody and Melissa before her disappearance, and had supposedly had an argument with Jody about her wanting to go to an unknown location with him and other friends. 

Jody's juvenile caseworker. Had been working with Jody for a period of time before her disappearance. 

Missouri

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If you have any information regarding the 1985 disappearance of Jody Ledkins, please call the Kansas City Police Department at 816-234-5136 or email missingperson@kcpd.org

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Cold Case Clip-Jody Lee Ledkins 1985

In 1985, a 14-year-old girl disappeared after leaving her friend's Kansas City, MO home. Then, nearly 10 years later her mother began receiving threatening phone calls stating that they had her daughter.

40 years later Jody Ledkins has never returned home.

The details of Jody Ledkins’ life are rather sparse. From reports it was clear that her home life was challenging and that she would run away frequently, eventually landing in a juvenile probation program. Jody and her family moved four different times before her 14th birthday; eventually settling in Kansas City, MO.  By 1981, her parents had divorced and it wasn’t long before her mother remarried, but that also ended in divorce. Then in 1985, Jody and her mother seemed to be in a place, and their relationship was strengthening.

Jody skips school with a friend, which was common for Jody. She had gotten in trouble in the past for skipping school. A year earlier, she had pushed a security guard which resulted in her being assigned a juvenile probation officer.  The pair spends the day at her friend's,  Melissa Folscroft, home located near East 14th Street and Winchester Avenue.

That evening, Jody and Melissa walk to Jody’s boyfriend’s house which was located near the 700 block of Cambridge Street in Kansas City, MO - approximately a 14-minute walk.  At some point that evening, Jody got into an argument with her friends and boyfriend. Jody wanted to go to an unknown location, but they did not want to go.

Later, Jody and Melissa leave her boyfriend’s home and head back to Melissa’s home on foot. By 10 pm, Jody calls her mother asking for a ride home. That evening, Karen did not have her car and was unable to pick Jody up. Jody told her mother that she’d find a ride home with a friend. Not long after the phone call with her mother Jody leaves Melissa’s home. Jody was last seen walking northbound on Winchester Avenue and 14th street. She did not have any extra clothing or money with her. When Melissa spoke to investigators, she was under the impression that Jody was heading back to her boyfriend’s house. 

Jody Ledkins_Last Known Location

The next morning, Karen realizes her daughter never returned home and contacts Jody’s Deputy Juvenile Officer to report her missing. When the Juvenile Officer learns of Jody’s disappearance, she suggests that Jody may have been upset about something, and to give her the weekend to cool off. The juvenile officer did prepare two warrants for Jody citing her as an “

endangered juvenile who should be taken into police custody if found

That advice from the Juvenile Officer would ultimately derail the entire case. The first 48 hours when a person goes missing are the most essential. Two years later, while Karen was having a conversation with Jody’s caseworker, it was discovered that Jody was never reported missing to the police. This conversation occurred after the first warrant was canceled by the courts in July 1986.

In 1989, Jody’s juvenile officer receives a letter from an individual claiming to be Jody. The letter states that she is okay but doesn’t explain why 'Jody’ left. When the handwriting is compared to a previous letter Jody wrote, Karen is uncertain if the handwriting matches that of her daughter.

Jody Ledkins Note

In 1993, Karen starts getting bizarre and threatening calls where the caller would demand money in exchange for Jody. On one occasion, the caller stated “If we don’t get the money your daughter will be sent to you in pieces”. These phone calls would last for two years. Luckily, Karen was able to record all of these phone calls and report them to the police. While police were able to make transcripts and triangulate the location of the phone call to a payphone in Kansas City, the caller was never identified. By August of that year, the case would be reclassified as a probable homicide.

In 1997, two prison inmates claimed they had information regarding Jody’s disappearance. This information brought police to the Mississippi River because the tip implied that the killer would have stashed her body in a car and then drove it into the river. However, the search was unsuccessful. 

Karen Stratton now lives in Arkansas but visits Kansas City a few times every year to search for her daughter. If you have any information regarding Jody Ledkins' case, please contact the Kansas City Police department at (816) 234-5140.

Jody Ledkins

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