Police continue investigation Saturday into Excelsior Springs kidnapping, sexual assault

Police tape blocked off several streets Saturday as authorities continued an investigation into a kidnapping and sexual assault at an Excelsior Springs house.

Timothy Haslett Jr., was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault in Clay County Circuit Court.

A malnourished victim apparently broke free from the home early Friday morning, screaming for neighbors to help her, police said.

“When we made contact with her, it was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant period of time,” said Excelsior Springs police Lt. Ryan Dowdy.

The victim, who is from the Kansas City metropolitan area, was transported to a hospital and was in stable condition. Her family had joined her at the hospital, Dowdy said Friday evening.

Police on Friday and into the weekend focused their investigation on a home in the 300 block of Old Orchard Street. The woman had told police that there were possibly two other victims, though police declined to say if other victims were suspected or had been located.

A cadaver dog was brought out to search the property Friday, but police declined to comment on any findings. A truck was moved into an evidence area and neighbors reported witnessing the removal of a blue barrel from the basement into the yard, which was placed under an evidence tent that had been set up Friday.

Police asked for the community to be patient as they continued to search the Old Orchard Street home so they could get “justice for the victims and make sure that she is taken care of and that this case doesn’t fall by the wayside,” Dowdy said.

On Saturday afternoon, Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull said in a news release that there were “numerous items in the residence that have to be sorted through and it is a slow, painstaking process.” The investigation was ongoing “and additional charges could be forthcoming if evidence of additional crimes is uncovered,” he said.

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Excelsior Springs neighbors and the community at large continued to await news of any findings stemming from the investigation as it entered its second day.

Among them was Susan White, who said she hardly got any sleep Friday night through Saturday morning as flashing red and blue lights from police vehicles…