Court Records Detail Digital Investigation Into Lindsey Watts’ Disappearance

Search warrants detail requests for cellphone, vehicle and social media records as investigators expanded search for evidence

By Echo Menges

EDINA, Mo. — Search warrants filed in Knox County Circuit Court provide the most detailed public look yet at the early stages of the investigation into the disappearance of Lindsey Watts, showing investigators sought electronic evidence from a 2013 Ford F-150, a black iPhone recovered from that vehicle, multiple cellphone providers and social media accounts, according to court documents.

The warrants, filed under Case Nos. 26KN-MC00006 through 26KN-MC00015, document investigative steps taken by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in the days following Watts’ disappearance. The records do not accuse anyone of a crime or establish criminal wrongdoing. Instead, they show investigators seeking digital evidence they believed could help determine what happened after Watts was last seen on May 19.

The search warrants show investigators quickly cast a wide net for electronic evidence as the investigation unfolded. According to court documents, investigators obtained warrants for records from Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile/U.S. Cellular, as well as Facebook and Snapchat.

Investigators also sought electronic data from a gray 2013 Ford F-150 and a black iPhone recovered from that vehicle. The records indicate investigators were attempting to reconstruct communications, movements, and location data in the days surrounding Watts’ disappearance.

Collectively, the warrants show investigators attempting to reconstruct where people went, who they communicated with and what digital evidence may have existed during the critical hours after Watts disappeared.

One of those warrants, Case No. 26KN-MC00010, sought Verizon Wireless records and authorized investigators to seize “property, article, material or substance that constitutes evidence of the commission of a crime,” according to court documents. The warrant sought subscriber information, call detail records, text message records, historical cell site information and other electronic records associated with a specified cellphone number. The warrant does not identify a specific criminal offense or accuse anyone of a crime. The court records do not explain why the warrant includes that language or whether the language reflects standard warrant wording.

As the investigation progressed, the language in the warrants also changed. In Case No. 26KN-MC00014, investigators sought authority to search a gray 2013 Ford F-150 for electronic data, including information stored in the vehicle’s onboard computer systems. That warrant states investigators were seeking “anything of evidentiary value related to the disappearance and/or death of Lindsey L. Watts,” according to court documents. The language describes the scope of evidence investigators were authorized to search for and does not establish that Watts is deceased. However, it is the first reference reviewed by The Edina Sentinel in public court records to investigators seeking evidence related to the possible death of Watts.

A companion warrant, Case No. 26KN-MC00013, authorized investigators to search a black iPhone. The warrant describes the device as a “black iPhone in a vehicle owned by Prebe which was a 2013 Ford F-150.” According to the warrant, investigators were authorized to search the device for photographs, videos, text messages, emails, internet history, application data, location information and other electronically stored evidence believed to be relevant to the investigation.

Earlier warrants requested “tower dump” records from Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile/U.S. Cellular for cellular towers serving the area near 510 N. Fifth St. in Edina during the overnight hours of May 19 and May 20. According to court documents, investigators requested records identifying devices that connected with those towers during the specified time period, along with available subscriber and location information.

Investigators also obtained search warrants for records maintained by Meta, seeking information associated with Watts’ Facebook account, including messages, photographs, login history and other account records. A separate warrant sought subscriber information, messages, logs and other account data from Snapchat, according to court documents.

Taken together, the court records show investigators pursued virtually every significant source of electronic evidence available during the early stages of the investigation, including cellphone carrier records, social media accounts, vehicle electronics and a cellphone recovered during the case. The warrants themselves do not reveal what evidence, if any, was recovered or what conclusions investigators ultimately reached. Search warrants authorize investigators to obtain information they believe may contain evidence; they do not establish that a crime occurred or that any person committed one.

Watts, 35, was last seen by family members at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at her residence in Edina. She was reported missing the following day after failing to return to work. Her cellphone was later recovered in a ditch near her home.

The investigation remains active. Knox County Sheriff Carl Knoche previously told the Edina Sentinel investigators have identified people of interest and are building the case “based solely on the evidence and the facts, not speculation or rumors.”

The Edina Sentinel obtained copies of these search warrants weeks ago but chose not to publish their contents while investigators actively pursued leads in the case. The warrants are public court records. With the investigation now more than two months underway, the newspaper is reporting on the documents as part of its continuing coverage of Watts’ disappearance and the public’s right to access public court records.

The disappearance of Lindsey Watts continues to be at the forefront of public concern locally and throughout the region.

As previously reported by The Edina Sentinel, additional search warrants related to Watts’ disappearance remain sealed and are not available for public inspection. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement agencies from throughout the region and state, including the FBI, continue to investigate Watts’ disappearance.

Anyone with information regarding Watts’ disappearance is encouraged to contact the Knox County Sheriff’s Office at (660) 397-2186, Ext. 1.