Body of man found after standoff near Joplin identified

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JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) – A body found in July on property southwest of Joplin has been identified as a Carthage man whose death is being investigated as a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

The body of Michael James Hall, 41, was found July 28 on the property after a standoff between officers and a suspect in a kidnapping case. Hall had been reported missing July 24.

The cause of death wasn’t announced but it is considered a homicide, The Joplin Globe reported.

Newton County deputies and Joplin police went to the site after receiving a tip that a body was there in woods on the property. Shots were fired at the officers and a standoff ensued with Freddie Tilton, 47, of Joplin, authorities said. He surrendered after tear gas was shot into the home.

Tilton was transferred to federal custody to face charges in the alleged kidnapping of a woman on July 19 in Neosho.

Tilton and Alvin D. Boyer, 35, of Rogers, Arkansas, are charged with luring a former girlfriend of Tilton’s to the Booneslick Lodge in Neosho, where Tilton allegedly assaulted her.

Boyer remains a fugitive, Newton County Sheriff Chris Jennings said.

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