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Ex tried to avoid man arrested in new missing-woman case

This Sept. 12, 2016, photo provided by the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Warsaw, Mo., shows Kylr Yust. In court records obtained Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, Yust, who is facing charges in the burning of a vehicle belonging to a 21-year-old Missouri woman who has been missing since last week, was the subject of a protection order nearly a decade ago by his then-girlfriend Kara Kopetsky, who accused him of kidnapping and abuse. Kopetsky disappeared in May 2007 and remains missing. That April 30, 2007, filing alleged Yust kidnapped and restrained the teenager, choked her and threatened to cut her throat during their nine-month relationship. He has not been charged in Kopetsky's disappearance. (Benton County Sheriff's Office via AP)
This Sept. 12, 2016, photo provided by the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Warsaw, Mo., shows Kylr Yust. In court records obtained Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, Yust, who is facing charges in the burning of a vehicle belonging to a 21-year-old Missouri woman who has been missing since last week, was the subject of a protection order nearly a decade ago by his then-girlfriend Kara Kopetsky, who accused him of kidnapping and abuse. Kopetsky disappeared in May 2007 and remains missing. That April 30, 2007, filing alleged Yust kidnapped and restrained the teenager, choked her and threatened to cut her throat during their nine-month relationship. He has not been charged in Kopetsky's disappearance. (Benton County Sheriff's Office via AP) This Sept. 12, 2016, photo provided by the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Warsaw, Mo., shows Kylr Yust. In court records obtained Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, Yust, who is facing charges in the burning of a vehicle belonging to a 21-year-old Missouri woman who has been missing since last week, was the subject of a protection order nearly a decade ago by his then-girlfriend Kara Kopetsky, who accused him of kidnapping and abuse. Kopetsky disappeared in May 2007 and remains missing. That April 30, 2007, filing alleged Yust kidnapped and restrained the teenager, choked her and threatened to cut her throat during their nine-month relationship. He has not been charged in Kopetsky's disappearance. (Benton County Sheriff's Office via AP)

By Associated Press 3 min read

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A man charged in the burning of a vehicle belonging to a 21-year-old Missouri woman missing since last week was the subject of a 2007 protection order by his teenage girlfriend, who hasn’t been seen since shortly after she accused him of kidnapping and abuse, according to court records.

Jessica Runions, 21, was last seen leaving a party Thursday night, and her mother reported her missing the next day. Runions’ car was discovered Saturday in south Kansas City, burned and abandoned. Police are treating her disappearance as a suspicious missing person case.

“We’re all praying every single minute,” Linda Runions said of her granddaughter, who worked in the restaurant of a senior living community in the Kansas City suburb of Raymore. “Just to hear that she’s OK.”

Kylr Yust, 27, was arrested Sunday morning on charges of “knowingly burning” Runions’ vehicle, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kari Thompson said.

Yust was being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. He faced no other charge in Runions’ disappearance and police have released no details about the relationship between them. Mike Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County’s prosecutor, declined to discuss the matter, saying by email only that “the case is now under seal.”