Search continues for missing Mayetta woman
It’s been more than a month since Joan Rebar went missing after leaving the VFW Post in Meriden late one evening, and local law enforcement, family and friends are still trying to solve the Mayetta woman’s disappearance.
Rebar, 70, was last seen leaving the post sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, driving her silver 2005 Chrysler Pacifica bearing Kansas disabled tag 71664.
Law enforcement officials say they believe she may have been driving back to her home on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation.
A Silver Alert for Rebar was issued on Sept. 30, four days after she was last seen. A concerned neighbor notified law enforcement officers after not seeing Rebar for many days.
Utilizing cell phone towers, Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said that the last known cell phone “ping” from Rebar’s phone came from a tower in Meriden at 4 p.m. that Saturday.
The cell phone company has indicated that the phone may have been within a seven-mile radius of the tower. That radius spans east to a portion of Lake Perry, south to Grantville, west to Elmont and north to 134th Road.
Since her disappearance, a variety of search methods have been utilized by local law enforcement, as well as private individuals, Morse said. Aircrafts from the Kansas Highway Patrol and private individuals have flown potential routes that Rebar may have taken after leaving the post.
Dogs have been brought in to search areas, and law enforcement and volunteers have walked, driven utility vehicles and ridden horseback in areas searching for any sight of Rebar.
Property owners were asked by Morse to check their private property near Meriden for any traces of the woman.
Staff from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism have used sonar to search Perry Lake for any signs of Rebar.
A Platte City, Mo. man donated his time and drone camera to search for Rebar on Oct. 21. Mike Raymond, the chief pilot and director of operations at NorthLand Sky-Cam, flew the drone over four possible sites where Rebar’s car might have left the road, but no traces of Rebar were found.
On Oct. 15, a candlelight vigil was held for Rebar at Prairie People’s Park on the reservation. More than 100 people attended the ceremony, which offered prayers and encouragement to the family.
Rebar is described as a Native American female who is five feet, six inches tall, weighs 230 pounds and has blue eyes and brown hair. Morse has reported that there are no “persons of interest” in her disappearance.
Rebar is the daughter of the late John and Marjorie “Ki gon” Abney, formerly of Mayetta. Rebar is retired and has a daughter, Twen Barton, and two granddaughters.
Family members have reported that Rebar suffers from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C.O.P.D.) and high blood pressure. She is also an amputee and uses a prosthesis.
Rebar is an enrolled citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation in Kansas and has previously served on tribal council as secretary and chairman during the 1990s. She has resided on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation since 1983.
A reward is being issued for any information that leads to the location of or circumstances that led to Rebar’s disappearance.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 785-364-2251 or the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Police at 785-966-3024.
