Rusk Sheriff identifies Kim Flint, missing since 2018
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The Rusk County Sheriff officially confirmed this morning that human remains found at the Angelina River belong to Kim Flint, missing from Laneville since 2018.
According to the Rusk County Sheriff, law enforcement received a call on January 20 about possible human remains in a wooded area near Richey Lane, near the Reklaw Community in Rusk County.
Sheriff’s deputies, along with Texas Rangers and a team of forensic anthropologists, recovered remains from the property and confirmed they were human, they said.
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After testing at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, DNA testing and dental recognition confirmed on January 27 the remains belonged to Kimberly Carter Flint, 55, of Reklaw.
Flint was first reported missing on September 29, 2018 after she failed to come home to dinner.
Flint’s husband was the last to speak to her at 3 p.m. on Sept. 29 when he allegedly phoned her on his way home from work to ask her what he should pick up for dinner, according to Dallas’s ABC News affiliate.
Not long after, Flint left the house in her 2016 black Jeep Grand Cherokee. Her purse, ID, as well as other possessions were left at her home, according to Kim’s son James. When Kim’s husband arrived home and couldn’t find her, he contacted the Rusk County Sheriff and his son.
“She knew that my dad was coming home within 45 minutes with her food,” James told ABC News Dallas. “Why would she just jump up, leaving everything?”
By 3:45 p.m. that evening, authorities had located Kim’s vehicle approximately 15 miles away from her home, partially crashed and abandoned in the roadway of US 84 in an area colloquially known as Mud Creek on the Angelina River.
The site of the vehicle crash was approximately one mile from where Flint’s remains were located, Reklaw residents stated.
James further told KLTV that the location where his mother’s remains were found were “pretty rough to get to.”
Drones, search dogs, and equipment such as all-terrain vehicles were previously used to search the area, according to law enforcement.
“I’m relieved and happy that we found her so we can put her to rest and let everybody who cared about and loved my mom have a chance to have closure,” James told KLTV.
James speculated that his mother walked to her final resting location on her own, KLTV reported. Rusk County law enforcement previously told media that they believed foul play was not involved
Flint’s husband of 40 years, James Roy, died in August 2021, just months before his wife’s remains were located.
By Taylor Nye
An earlier version of this story contained a numerical error when stating Flint’s vehicle was found 84 miles from home. It was found on Highway 84, 15 miles from home. The correction has been updated.
All data gathered from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Database, Charley Project, local news media, Texas Equusearch, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Texas Department of Public Safety, CrimeStoppers, Missing East Texas Eight Facebook Page, Texas Department of Corrections and original research.
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