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Three victims identified in Ottawa homicide; police searching for missing child; “person of interest” being questioned

By Shaun Hittle - | May 9, 2013

Law enforcement authorities Wednesday identified the victims in a triple homicide discovered earlier this week in rural Ottawa, and said they were still looking for the 18-month-old daughter of one of those killed. Police also said they were questioning 27-year-old Ottawa man Kyle T. Flack as a “person of interest” in the case.

The whirlwind day of developments brought some clarity to the bizarre crime, which includes links to several ex-cons and a previous local killing. But many questions remained, including the cause of death, the whereabouts of the little girl and the identity of the killer.

Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards said the homicide victims include Kaylie Kathleen Bailey, 22, of Olathe; Andrew Adam Stout, 30, of Ottawa; and Steven Eugene White, 31, of Ottawa. Richards said the three — all found on the property at 3197 Georgia Road, five miles west of Ottawa — had not been positively identified until Wednesday.

Stout and White lived at the house where the bodies were found; Bailey apparently was Stout’s girlfriend.

Bailey’s 18-month-old daughter, Lana-Leigh Bailey, remains missing. The child was last seen alive on April 28 at the Georgia Road property. She was reported missing along with her mother on May 3. Friends say Bailey may have gone to the Ottawa house where the bodies were found to drop her daughter off with Stout to babysit.

Family members spoke to media Wednesday, pleading for the child’s safe return.

“Please bring her back to us,” said Shawna Pettijohn, Kaylie Bailey’s sister. “We have our friends with us constantly, we have our phones on full volume. We’re doing everything we can, we’re sleeping in shifts.”

Though he did not provide any specifics about where investigators believe the missing child could be, Richards said, “Our priority is finding Lana.”

On Tuesday, friends started a Facebook page called “Find Lana and Kaylie Bailey.”

Asked whether the sheriff’s office believed the child was still alive, Richards said, “We have no indication she is not.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation declined to issue a full Amber Alert for the missing child because her image had already been widely circulated by the media. However, all other measures taken in the case of an Amber Alert are in effect, the KBI said.

While Richards said no suspects are in custody, police are questioning Flack — brought in Wednesday morning –as a “person of interest.” Police had been looking for him along with a 2007 Toyota Corolla that belonged to Bailey.

Flack’s relationship with the victims is unclear. He served four years in prison for the 2005 shooting of Ottawa resident Steven Dale Free, 47, who was found in his front yard with multiple small-caliber gunshot wounds. Flack was convicted in Franklin County of attempted second-degree murder and was paroled in 2009.

Relatives, friends worried over missing for days

Bailey, an Ottawa native and Ottawa High School graduate, had worked at First Response Inc., a private security firm based in Mission, as well as at the Ottawa American Eagle Outfitters. Stout also worked, at American Eagle Outfitters, according to a neighbor.

Friend and relatives of the victims became worried last week when they hadn’t heard from the three for several days. Police checked the Georgia Road property Sunday, after Stout’s childhood friend Corey Schlotzhauer — looking for his missing friend — visited the property and noticed a strong smell.

“I know, if it’s that strong it’s not an animal,” Schlotzhauer said. “And it’s not trash.”

However, police did not find any bodies after that first call by Schlotzauer, who returned Monday with two friends and discovered a bloated female body in the garage, under a blue tarp. Police then returned to the scene and located the two other bodies.

Criminal ties

The case features ties to multiple criminal activities, though it’s not clear how, or if, any of them are related to the deaths.

Kailey Bailey married 25-year-old Shawn Patrick Bailey in 2011, and divorced him in March. Shawn, the father of Lana-Leigh, has been in a Missouri jail since January following a burglary arrest in Lebanon, Mo. Shawn was arrested with relative Cyle Bailey, 23, who had been imprisoned with Shawn for their role in a 2008 burglary in Franklin County.

Cyle Bailey had also initially been sought by police as a “person of interest” in the Ottawa homicide. However, police canceled that request Tuesday after speaking with Cyle.

Stout, meanwhile, was the fiance of an Ottawa woman killed in 2009. Mark Aaron Sherman was convicted of shooting and killing Stout’s fiancee, Sky Nicole Cadarette, 19. Stout’s sister, Amberly Stout, had two children with Sherman, who was paroled in January.

White, one of the victims, has a lengthy criminal record, and spent time in prison on theft, drug and arson convictions. White was most recently released from prison in November 2009.

Richards said his office is receiving assistance in the case from a wide variety of area law enforcement officials, who continue to work the crime scene.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Franklin County TIPS Hotline at 888-311-TIPS.