ST. CLAIR COUNTY - Investigators with the Desloge, Mo., Police Department discovered remains believed to be those of a small child while executing a search warrant July 8, 2026, in Stookey Township, Ill., authorities said, in a case that began with a parental kidnapping report filed last month. The remains were found in St. Clair County, Ill.
Stookey Township is an unincorporated part of Belleville just west of downtown Belleville. The St. Clair County Coroner’s Office has not yet positively identified the remains.
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Desloge police said the search warrant stemmed from a June 12, 2026, report in which the child’s mother told the department she had not seen her child in more than a year.
Investigators conducted interviews in multiple jurisdictions and, in coordination with the St. Francois County Prosecutor’s Office, obtained warrants charging the child’s father, Ronnell Marquese Jones, 32, of St. Louis, with parental kidnapping and harassment. Police said Jones was taken into custody June 30, 2026.
An additional arrest warrant was issued for Kirstie Dora, 35, also of St. Louis, on charges of parental kidnapping and harassment. Authorities said she was taken into custody July 2, 2026.
Police said both are being held without bond.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing and that more information is expected to be released soon.
The investigation involves the Desloge Police Department, the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services, the FBI’s St. Louis Field Office, the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Missouri Children’s Division, the St. Clair County Coroner’s Office, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Spring Hill Fire Department, St. Clair County Special Emergency Services, S.A.R. K9, Stookey Township and the Stookey Township Road Commission.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Desloge Police Department, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department in Illinois, or the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
