Missing man is found dead

The body of Ernest Jensen, the missing Newton County man whom Monett and Pierce City firefighters searched for over the weekend, was found last evening.

According to Captain Richard Leavens with the Newton County Sheriff's Department, Jensen was found under brush in a pasture around 5:30 p.m. by a neighbor checking livestock. The body was located about one mile west of the Jensen home near the Smackout access off Highway 60, between Pierce City and Granby in Newton County.

Jensen, 62, was known to have post traumatic stress syndrome from his war experience. Leavens reported that Jensen's wife, Marjorie, said if Jensen was having flashbacks, he may have hidden from rescuers. Leavens said the position of the body was consistent with that assessment.

Jensen was found near the edge of the perimeter where area firefighters, police, National Guardsmen and search and rescue crews searched for three days.

"We want to thank everyone who participated in the search," Leavens said. "It's not the results we were hoping and praying for. At least we brought him home to his family."