Ira Lee Briscoe

LANTON, Mo. (KY3) - It has been two weeks and counting since a Howell County man went missing under suspicious circumstances. 

Deputies say rumors have been flying in the small town, but still no sign of Ira Lee Briscoe. Investigators say with each passing day in a case like this, the urgency only grows. “The more time that goes by, the more likely the outcome is not going to be good,” said Howell County sheriff’s deputy Lt. Torey Thompson. Lt. Thompson says Briscoe was last seen near his home in rural Howell County, the Lanton area. His house is now boarded up. 

Detectives have been following multiple leads, but so far no sign of the 25-year-old. Briscoe’s parents reported him missing on December 23, although they had not heard from him since Dec. 17. That is uncommon for the family. “They’re very concerned about the whereabouts of their son,” Lt. Thompson said. We reached out for an interview with Briscoe’s parents, but they did not want to talk about the case. One week after the report was made, detectives thought they had a major break in the case. 

They found Briscoe’s car. It was at a scrap yard. “The problem is there’s some debate about whether it’s even his car or not anymore. He may have given it to someone else, so it doesn’t offer us any evidentiary value whatsoever,” Thompson said. The day before Briscoe went missing, two people exchanged gunfire inside a house in nearby Koshkonong. Both of them know Briscoe, which gave investigators reason to possibly think there could be a connection. “Yes, Ira Briscoe is an associate of both individuals that were involved in that shooting.” Investigators are working to determine if there could be a connection between what led up to the shooting, and Briscoe’s disappearance. “It could be indirectly connected, or even directly connected... we just don’t know exactly what we are looking at yet. We are following up.” 

At this point, Briscoe’s case is still considered a missing persons case under suspicious circumstances. If you have any information on it, you are asked to call the Howell County Sheriff’s Office. 

His car is described as a 1995 Mercury Sable with the license plate number of LC9-V1B. The original color of the vehicle is silver, but investigators believe it has been spray painted black. Anyone with information regarding the shooting or Briscoe's disappearance is asked to contact the Howell County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation division at 417-256-2544.