BREAKING: Remains of missing autistic girl found in a burn pile at mother’s property
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A Missouri woman is facing murder charges after authorities found the remains of her 16-year-old daughter in a burn pit on her property.

KARE 11 reports that Ozark County Prosecutor John Garrabrant announced on Tuesday that Rebecca Ruud, of Longrun, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after the remains of her teen daughter, Savannah Leckie, who was reported missing in July, were found burned into mostly ashes on Ruud’s Missouri property.

Savannah was adopted at birth by Tamile Montague and David Leckie in Minnesota, but still kept in contact with her birth mother, Rudd. According to court documents, Savannah moved in with Rudd after having problems with adopted mother’s new boyfriend. The teen lived with Rudd on County Road 905 for almost a year before Rudd reported her missing.

ORIGINAL Story: MISSING! Autistic girl vanishes; family desperate for answers

According to Rudd, she saw Savannah before she went to bed on July 19, but the next day, she couldn’t find her daughter and called 911. Soon after, authorities named Rudd a suspect in the case. Ruud started a GoFundMe account to help raise funds for a lawyer.

“Police are investigating me, which is good that they are eliminating me as a suspect.”

On August 4, police search Rudd’s 81-acre property and found two intact finger bones, a large vertebra bone, bone fragments, and ashes inside a burn pit. Authorities brought canine dogs to Ruud’s property, and two different dogs at different times hit on the same spot by a burn pile. Someone covered the area with fresh leaves and branches, but authorities found what a forensics expert later confirmed to be human remains and ashes.

Savannah’s remains were found around 1,200 feet from the home.

“From information I received [Monday] from forensic specialists, and evidence that was obtained, the remains that were recovered are those of 16-year-old Savannah Leckie, of Longrun [Mo.],”Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed said in a  public statement.

Rudd’s former boyfriend told authorities that he witnessed her doling out cruel punishment to Savannah, including making the teen bathe in ponds and crawl through hog pens. Detectives noted that Rudd and her new husband, Robert Peat Jr., have been uncooperative throughout the investigation. The pair were married on the day police found Savannah’s remains.

READ More: Breaking Now: Bones found could be missing Missouri girl

As CrimeOnline previously reported, detectives also found “three knives, a meat grinder, and over two dozen bottles of lye, a compound sometimes used to dissolve human corpses” while searching Ruud’s property.

As of Tuesday morning, Ruud remains behind without bail.

Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Facebook/Handout]