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Man Initially Considered Missing With Girlfriend And Her Stepdad Is Now ‘Person Of Interest’ In Their Suspicious Disappearance
Mitchell Mincks, 24, was arrested in Iowa on an unrelated arrest warrant, authorities said. He’s suspected in the disappearance of his girlfriend Elissa Landry and her stepfather David Batten, who were last heard from on April 19.
The boyfriend of an Arizona woman, who vanished last month along with her stepfather, is now a “person of interest” in their disappearance, authorities said.
Mitchell Mincks, 24, was booked in Waterloo, Iowa on Tuesday, according to the Chino Valley Police Department. He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant unrelated to the disappearance of his girlfriend, Elissa Landry, 28, and her stepdad, David Batten, 45, who were reported missing on April 21. They were last heard from two days earlier.
Mincks, Landry and Batten were previously thought to have all vanished together from Chino Valley. At the time, all three were considered “missing endangered subjects.”
Evidence uncovered at Batten’s home indicated foul play may be at work and led investigators to deem their disappearance suspicious. However, this week, law enforcement announced that they suspected Landry and Batten were no longer alive. An subsequent aerial and ground search of a patch of desert off an interstate highway uncovered Landry's and Batten’s mobile phones, according to authorities.
“This area was searched due to evidence collected during the investigation,” police said in a statement. “During this search no people or vehicles were located but searchers did recover Elissa and David’s cell phones.”
The trio was previously thought to have been possibly driving a blue 2013 Subaru Forester with Arizona plates. Landry has brown hair, brown eyes, stands roughly five feet tall, and weighs 155 pounds, investigators said. Her stepfather is described as also having brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs approximately 255 pounds.
Law enforcement declined to release further information, citing the ongoing and active nature of the possible murder investigation.
Anyone with information related to the case is urged to call the Chino Valley Police Department at 928-636-4223 or the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office at 928-771-3260.
