Suspected remains of missing Rice Lake woman found at incinerator facility

The suspected remains of a woman who was reported missing last month were found at an incinerator building, according to the Rice Lake Police Department.

Police initially reported 39-year-old Melissa R. Davis as missing in May after her family said they hadn’t talked to her in several weeks.

Authorities say she was last seen near Allen and Main streets in the City of Rice Lake on May 13 and asked people in the area to check their security systems for footage of Davis.

On May 31, Rice Lake police, along with the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation and Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, searched Davis’ home. A land and water search was also conducted with help from NorthStar Search and Rescue, however neither search resulted in any leads.

In an update on Friday, police stated they got further information about the investigation based on video footage near Davis’ home around the time she went missing.

Officials say that on May 13, around 7:19 p.m., Davis walked from her home and was seen getting into a dumpster of her own free will and was not seen getting out.

On May 14, the contents of the dumpster were brought to an incinerator facility for disposal. Police say that “suspected human remains similar to Ms. Davis’ clothing and physical characteristics” were found within the incinerator building.

Authorities note that all of the contents within the building were eventually processed through the incinerator.

The police department states that it is continuing to investigate the incident and that more information will be released later.