West Plains, MO. – The body of a local man who went missing in December was found in late January.
Levi D. Gunter, age 42 of West Plains, was reported missing on December 20, 2023, to the Howell County Sheriff’s Office. He had last been seen on December 2, 2023. Gunter had been a suspect in the double murder of Frankie L. Ziegler and Richard L. Kuntz on May 5, 2020, and had been arrested on those charges in July 2023. He was out on a $100,000 bond and was to go to trial in July 2024.
A search by the Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the West Plains Police Department, Bakersfield Fire Department, Tecumseh Fire Department, Caulfield Fire Department, and Pottersville Fire Department recovered the body of Gunter on January 29, 2023.
An autopsy was performed on Gunter on February 1st, but the results have not been released at this time.
