Illinois State Police confirm that burned remains found in 2017 have been positively identified as Beth Bentley, the Woodstock mother of three who went missing in 2010.
Benedetta “Beth” Bentley was last seen on May 23, 2010 in Centralia, Illinois, which is in Jefferson County.
Illinois State Police said on Tuesday that the badly burned remains found in rural Jefferson County on December 4, 2017 were confirmed to be that of Bentley.
Bentley, then 41 years old, left Woodstock for a weekend trip with her friend, Jennifer Wyatt-Paplham, to Southern Illinois. Wyatt-Paplham initially told police she dropped Bentley off at an Amtrak station in Centralia.
Bentley said that she would meet with a male friend from St. Louis and then return home later, Wyatt-Paplham told police. Bentley never boarded the train.
Wyatt-Paplham was later charged with two counts of felony obstruction of justice for lying to police, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Those charges were later dismissed by a judge.
Few details have been released about the case but Illinois State Police said that the results of the investigation, which was conducted in part with the Woodstock Police Department, have been forwarded to the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s office for review.
Illinois State Police said that “no further information” would be available for release.