Abducted 18-year-old Likely Dead That Night

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A suburban Kansas City police chief says an 18-year-old woman was likely strangled shortly after being kidnapped from a Target parking lot.<br/><br/>John Douglass, the chief in

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 4:23 pm

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A suburban Kansas City police chief says an 18-year-old woman was likely strangled shortly after being kidnapped from a Target parking lot.

John Douglass, the chief in Overland Park, Kansas, says that "seems to be the most logical conclusion."

Kelsey Smith was abducted from the Target lot in Overland Park about seven o'clock last Saturday evening. About two hours later, a surveillance video showed her car being driven back onto the Target lot.

Douglass says investigators believe Smith was killed some time in between. He says the autopsy will determine a more precise time of death.

Smith's body was found Wednesday in a wooded area in Missouri -- about 20 miles from where she was kidnapped. Twenty-six-year-old Edwin Hall, of Olathe, is charged with killing her.