Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 09/11/1979
- Missing From:
- Missing From St. Joseph, Missouri
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 09/25/1959 (65)
- Age:
- Age 19 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 5’6, 140 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A white hospital work uniform, a khaki coat and white shoes. Carrying a white purse.
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. West wears eyeglasses, which have her name “Micki” printed down the side of the right lens. She may spell her name “Mikki.”
- Details of Disappearance:
- On September 11, 1979, a woman named West disappeared in St. Joseph, Missouri. She was going to work but never arrived. A former police officer, Marvin Lee Irvin, who was also married to West’s best friend and sister-in-law, was suspected. He had threatened her before, and she carried a hammer for protection.
In 1991, Irvin confessed to killing West, along with two other women. He said he killed West and buried her in a Kansas cornfield. Police found the bodies of the other two women in that same cornfield, but West’s body was never found.
Even though Irvin confessed, his confession wasn’t enough to find West’s body. Police had made mistakes in their initial investigation. Irvin pleaded guilty to murder for the other two women, and to a lesser charge for West’s murder to avoid the death penalty. He’s now serving a life sentence in prison. The mystery of West’s exact burial location remains unsolved.
- Agency:
- St. Joseph Police Department 816-271-4701
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 09/11/1979