--- description: Burned bones found near the woman's property were those of Savannah Leckie, who was raised by her adoptive family in Minnesota. title: Biological Mom in Custody After Girl's Burned Bones Found image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6281af213ca4339/6988dab086f68e00096e61a9/savannah-leckie.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Biological Mom in Custody After Girl's Burned Bones Are Found in Rural Area by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2017 6:15 PM CUT  An image of Savannah Leckie, who was last seen on July 19, 2017. An image of Savannah Leckie, who was last seen on July 19, 2017.National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2017 6:15 PM CUT (THEODOSIA, Mo.) — Authorities say the biological mother of a 16-year-old girl whose burned remains were found in rural Missouri is jailed on a 24-hour investigative hold. The jail administrator in Ozark County says the woman was taken into custody at 3 p.m. Monday but not arrested. No charges have been filed. The public defender’s office in a nearby county was meeting with the mother. The office didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed announced Monday that burned bones found near the woman’s property were those of Savannah Leckie, who was raised by her adoptive family in Minnesota. In a statement Tuesday, Reed says the investigation has “intensified” and that arrests are expected. Savannah was living in Longrun, Missouri, with her biological mother and the woman’s boyfriend before she disappeared in late July. The mother and boyfriend wed on Aug. 4, the same day the remains were found. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4911020/missouri-missing-teen-burned-bones-mother-jailed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4911020/missouri-missing-teen-burned-bones-mother-jailed/"},"headline":"Biological Mom in Custody After Girl's Burned Bones Are Found in Rural Area","datePublished":"2017-08-22T18:15:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:06:58.233Z","description":"Savannah Leckie disappeared in late July","url":"https://time.com/4911020/missouri-missing-teen-burned-bones-mother-jailed/","keywords":["Crime","onetime","APW"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6281af213ca4339/6988dab086f68e00096e61a9/savannah-leckie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6281af213ca4339/6988dab086f68e00096e61a9/savannah-leckie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Savannah-Leckie","caption":"An image of Savannah Leckie, who was last seen on July 19, 2017.","creditText":"National Center for Missing and Exploited Children","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4911020/missouri-missing-teen-burned-bones-mother-jailed/","name":"Biological Mom in Custody After Girl's Burned Bones Are Found in Rural Area"}}]}] ```