Send information to State's Attorney

McHenry County Blog closed its article about Beth yesterday with this: "The results of the joint investigation conducted by the ISP Zone 7 Investigations, ISP Zone 1 Investigations and Woodstock Police Department (WPD) have been forwarded to the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s
office for review."
If you have any information, thoughts, suspicions or ideas about how Beth Bentley died, send them to

The Honorable Sean Featherstun

Jefferson County State’s Attorney

100 S. 10^th Street, Room 203

Mt. Vernon, IL 62864

ISP Press Release on Bentley

Earlier this afternoon the Illinois State Police issued this press release:

ISP MAKES POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION ON REMAINS OF BENEDETTA “BETH” BENTLEY

DuQuoin, IL – Illinois State Police (ISP) officials announce the positive identification of the body of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley. The human remains, located on December 4, 2017 in rural Jefferson County, have been positively identified.

On May 23, 2010, a friend reportedly dropped off Beth Bentley at an Amtrak Station in Centralia, Illinois. Bentley was reportedly taking a train back to her home located in Woodstock, Illinois. Bentley did not return home and was reported missing. Information was developed which led the ISP to a rural location in Jefferson County where suspected human remains were recovered at the location.

The results of the joint investigation conducted by the ISP Zone 7 Investigations, ISP Zone 1 Investigations and Woodstock Police Department (WPD) have been forwarded to the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s office for review.

No further information will be available from the ISP.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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The "friend" mentioned in that release is Jenn Wyatt. Was she telling the truth at the time, when she said she dropped Beth off at the Amtrak station in Centralia?

I saw the phone records for several people on a group phone bill, and the pattern of calls was definitely suspicious.

The Woodstock Police Department was the lead investigating agency, because it was where she was reported missing. However, Woodstock is more than 300 miles from Mt. Vernon and Jefferson County, and it would have been difficult and expensive for Woodstock PD to investigate thorough.

Did the Illinois State Police get a tip to check out a burn pit? Who tipped them? Did that person seek immunity for providing the tip? 

Never lose hope in DNA testing. It might take a while; might take years. But cases get solved many years later. 

Remains are of Beth Bentley

The Illinois State Police is reporting that burned remains found approximately two years in Jefferson County, Illinois, near Mt. Vernon, are those of missing Beth Bentley, then 41, of Woodstock.

Beth was reported missing in May 2010, when she did not return from a trip to Mt. Vernon, Iowa with her friend, Jenn Wyatt. There are many articles on this blog. For a couple of years I wrote weekly about her being missing.

There were plenty of suspicions floating around about what happened to her. There were too many misdirections and red herrings. Too many stories that didn't match up. Too many sketchy circumstances.

Those closest to these stories should be worried big-time now that her remains have been found. In my mind, there is no doubt that at least six people have known since May 2010 exactly what happened to her. Until now they apparently have kept their mouths shut. Now that they know the little burning trick didn't work, maybe at least one of them will be nervous enough to speak up.

Obviously, she never took a train from Centralia, as Wyatt said. How is Wyatt going to explain now about the identity of the burned remains? Wyatt claimed then that she had driven Bentley to the Amtrak station and dropped her there, so that Bentley could take the train to Chicago and on to Woodstock. Will she stick to that story now?

Thanks to the numerous people who tipped me off to the short story in the Northwest Herald. The Illinois State Police will remain quiet; it's an open case.

The next court date on the probate of Beth's Will is scheduled for February 18, 2020. Will Judge Chmiel find good reason to hold the probate open? Can anyone explain the Motion to Impound that was filed on December 21, 2017? Is this similar to sealing court records? Why would that have been requested?