Excelsior Springs kidnapping case not linked to KC missing persons cases, police say

Evidence in an investigation into a man accused of imprisoning and raping a woman in his Excelsior Springs basement has not been linked to any missing persons reports in Kansas City, according to the Excelsior Springs Police Department.

On Oct. 7, a woman escaped from a home in the 300 block of Old Orchard Avenue and screamed for help from neighbors. When police were contacted, they were told she was wearing a metal collar with what appeared to be a padlock on the front, and a trash bag.

The victim was taken to a hospital.

Timothy Haslett, 39, was arrested and has been charged with rape, kidnapping and assault in Clay County. A bond hearing for Haslett scheduled for Tuesday has been rescheduled for Nov 8.

The case has provoked speculation across the community, but police and prosecutors have released few details.

The victim who escaped, a 22-year-old Black woman, told police she was picked up by him on Prospect Avenue weeks earlier, in early September, and kept in “a small room in the basement that he had built,” according to a probable cause statement.

She reported to police that Haslett had “whipped her” and raped her “frequently.”

“He kept her restrained in handcuffs on her wrists and ankles. She was able to get free when he took his child to school,” an Excelsior Springs detective wrote in a probable cause statement.

The woman’s statements to police led them to suspect others may have been hurt and a cadaver dog was brought to search the area. Investigators have yet to confirm whether there is evidence Haslett harmed anyone else.

Excelsior Springs police say they’ve activated the Clay County Investigative Squad Task Force, made up of members of multiple law enforcement organizations within the county.

Police also said the victim had not been reported missing in the area.

“We have checked with law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City metropolitan area and there are no current missing persons reports that correspond with the evidence examined so far in this investigation,” Excelsior Springs Police Chief Gregory Dull said.

The Kansas City Police Department said it bases investigations on reports made to the department.

“There have been no reports made to our department of missing persons, more specifically women, missing from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri,” Officer Donna Drake said Monday.

Sunday vigil

On Sunday evening, about 30 people gathered at a gas station near the intersection of East 80th Street and Prospect Avenue to bring attention to missing Black women in the Kansas City community.

About one-third of the missing persons cases reported to KCPD this year have been Black females, according to data as of Oct. 8 from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The candlelight vigil, hosted by The KC Defender, a Black-led digital news outlet, and Bishop Tony Caldwell of the Eternal Life Church, was held in part to pray for and support the woman who escaped from Haslett’s home.

“We pray for that brave young lady today. That soldier, that hero. She broke free, God, to be able to bring justice not only to herself, but to her friends that didn’t make it out God. She was able to speak for herself Lord, and we thank you for that, God .... We thank you God for putting the courage in her, God, to stand up even as she was bound, beaten, abused. They did not break her spirit, God,” Caldwell said.

If anyone has information regarding this case, they can call the Excelsior Springs Police Department at 816-629-7108 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

The Star’s Anna Spoerre contributed to this story.