Mummified

Mummified Body Found Eight Months After Disappearance…

Man goes missing only for his wife to find his mummified remains eight months later in their home. Jennifer Maedge of Troy, Illinois reported her husband missing on April 27 of last year.

Richard Maedge had told his wife on a phone call that he was going to work early that day but instead seemed to have disappeared into thin air. According to local news outlet KTVI-TV, his keys, wallet, and even his car were at home.

The next few months were horrific for Jennifer. According to KTVI the police searched the home multiple times, the first when Jennifer originally reported her husband missing and then later when she called due to a horrible smell in the house. The local news reported that the police noticed a “sewer-like” odor inside the home but dismissed it as they described the residence as a “hoarder home.”

Later, Jennifer called the police again because of the odd smell, but when officers entered the home, the odor seemed the same as before. Eventually, a plumber was called. He identified the odor as sewer gas coming up from a pipe in the basement. At the time the plumber caped the pipe and the smell seemed to disappear.

Months went by before Jennifer was faced with her first Christmas without her husband. In pulling out Christmas decorations she made a harrowing discovery.

Richard’s mummified body was in the storage room under the stairs. Jennifer was obviously shocked but told KTVI that she did have peace knowing what happened.

“He will be deeply missed,” she said. “Even though we didn’t want the outcome that we had, it’s still an outcome that we can, you know, put him to rest.”

Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn reported that Richard died by suicide.

In the wake of the discovery family of the dead man believe the police department did a terrible job in their search and should be held accountable.

Richard’s brother-in-law, Van Toliver, voiced his concerns at a city council meeting in December.

“I just find it unfathomable to see how a police department failed this badly,” Toliver said.

“I talked to Jenn, his spouse, and she said that detectives never searched the house; it was patrol cops. … Me and my wife have called on numerous occasions complaining about the odor coming from the house and the flies.”

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