A woman found dead near an Arizona river bottom last week has been identified and a suspect in her death arrested, KPNX reported.
Amy “Ruby” Leagans, who moved to Chandler from Illinois in April, was reported missing on October 27 by her family, who said they hadn’t heard from her since October 21.
Chandler police announced Tuesday that the body found near the Salt River bottom in Phoenix on November 17 was that of Leagans, and they said they were searching for 61-year-old Timothy Sullivan, whom they believed to be connected with her disappearance.
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On Wednesday, they announced that Sullivan had been arrested. He is considered a suspect in Leagans’s death and disappearance, the television station said.
Leagans, 49, was looking forward to a new beginning in Arizona, her sister, Christa Holton, told KPNX. Holton said she’d joked with family members that “on Christmas, she’d be in a bathing suit, while we’re all hunkered down in our winter clothes.”
“To lose her is definitely tough,” Holton said. “I will never be the same.”
Chandler police said they found “suspicious circumstances” when they arrived at Leagans’s home to conduct a welfare check at the request of family members and launched a search for Sullivan. Holton said Leagans had not mentioned him to other family members. The body was found with “obvious signs of foul play,” police said.
Sullivan has not yet been booked into the Maricopa County jail, according to jail records.
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[Featured image: Amy Leagans/Chandler Police Department]
