TROY, MO – According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office , 50-year-old William Benhardt, of Lincoln County, and Sussette Benhardt, also 50, were last seen at their business, Snow Hill Nursery, near Troy, MO, around 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, having an argument.
The two were reportedly going through a divorce but still living together.
Around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, William Benhardt was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Montgomery County. His gun, a .357 revolver, had been fired twice. One of those bullets has not been unaccounted for — the other bullet Benhardt used to kill himself.
Sussette Benhardt is considered missing and endangered. Authorities have conducted an aerial search of the property in Montgomery County and a grid search with canines at the Snow Hill Nursery in Lincoln County. Sussette Benhardt’s cell phone was found in a washing machine in the couple’s home.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Sussette Benhardt should call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 636-528-6100.
