Man charged with murder after woman’s body found in Sabine River

JASPER, TX (KTRE) - The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a missing woman’s body was found in the Sabine River.

Sheriff Mitchell Newman says Candy McKee’s body was found about 4:30 Monday afternoon. He says her husband and a coworker reported her missing about 8:30 Monday morning. Newman says McKee was supposed to be at work in Buna by 5 a.m. but never showed up.

Firefighters responded to a vehicle on fire about 4:30 a.m. Monday. Newman says that’s when they discovered some suspicious signs that led them to conduct a search and investigation.

He says McKee’s body was found about 12 hours later in the Sabine River off Highway 63 near Burr Ferry.

Kevin Byerly, 56, of Newton, is charged with murder. He’s being held in the Jasper County Jail on a $1 million bond.

McKee’s body has been sent to Beaumont for autopsy. Right now there is no word on what caused McKee’s death.

Newman says sheriff’s officials from Louisiana assisted in the case.

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