BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Police believe they have found the remains of a Beaumont woman who has been missing for nearly 25 years after searching the home and property of a Beaumont man they say killed her and buried her at his home.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that a body was found under a driveway. This has been corrected)
Police arrested Terry Rose, 67, for murder on Thursday after spending several days executing a search warrant at his home. Rose is the ex-boyfriend of Kimberly Langwell, who went missing in 1999.
On Friday his bond was set at $1 million by a Jefferson County Criminal Court Magistrate Marc DeRouen. If he makes bail he must wear a GPS monitor and not leave Jefferson County, DeRouen told 12News. Rose was arrested at 6:15 p.m., Thursday by the Beaumont Police Special Assignments Unit.
In April 2024 police talked to a "reliable informant" who told them that Langwell had been killed inside Rose's Lindbergh Dr. home on July 9, 1999, which is the same day she was last seen , according to a probable cause affidavit in the case. The informant also told police that Langwell had been buried on the property.
Police got a search warrant based on the information and began searching at the home on Monday, June 10, 2024.
Three days later, on June 13, police found human remains on the property, which they believe to belong to Langwell, according to the affidavit. The discovery was consistent with what the informant told police, the affidavit said.
During a news conference Friday morning police said that, after searching for several days at Rose's home, that they had found what they believe to be the remains of Kimberly Langwell.
“Make no mistake, this was a team effort,” said Beaumont Police Chief Jimmy Singletary, noting the cooperation of multiple agencies in the search.
Beaumont Police were assisted in the search by the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, the FBI and the ATF, Beaumont's Public Works Department and Texas Equusearch.
Singletary made it a point to mention three Beaumont detectives, Lt. Mitch Sliger, Sgt. Jesus Tamayo and Det. Heather Wilson, who he said had worked the case and been in contact with the family over the years.
Kimberly Langwell’s daughter, Tiffani McInnis, was at the news conference and spoke to 12News afterwards.
“I don't think I've processed it to be honest, but in the moment that you hear that they’ve found your mother you’re elated,” McInnis said of how she feels about the latest news about her mom’s case.
“It's a long time coming and I'm so very grateful to have my mother back. Not in the way that I wanted her, but to know that she's no longer being held is a good feeling,” McInnis said.
I don't believe that we will ever know truly what happened besides what the evidence is going to show,” McInnis said. “But I've always known that she's there, I've known that since the day that she was gone.
“It's tough to know where your mom is and know that there's nothing you can do,” she said.
Langwell, who was 34-years-old at the time, was last seen July 10, 1999, according to file stories. Her car was found abandoned in the parking lot at the Phelan Shopping Center on Dowlen Rd with her mobile phone in the car but her keys and purse were missing.
On Thursday, FBI agents and police began breaking up concrete and digging up the driveway of a home on Lindbergh as they continued to search the property.
The FBI joined police in the search on Tuesday morning and brought in ground penetrating radar and cadaver dogs to assist in the search according to Beaumont Police on Tuesday morning. No other new information was released.
Police say recent developments in the disappearance of Langwell have led detectives to execute a search warrant at a home in the 1600 block of Lindbergh Dr., according to a news release from the Beaumont Police Department.
Beaumont Police Officer Carol Riley tells 12News that the department is relieved they can put the 25-year-old case to rest.
"This has been a long 25 years for Kimberly Langwell's family. We want this to encourage all families that are missing a loved one or have a case that's unsolved and know that we never give up. Anything that comes in, we continue," Riley said.
Her case was recently featured on an episode of Cold Justice on the Oxygen Network.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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