One Kidnapping Suspect Appears in Court Tuesday

One of the men accused of kidnapping Cassidy Rainwater of Dallas County appeared in court Tuesday. 56-year old Timothy Norton, who lists his address as Moonvalley Road, Lebanon, appeared via video from the Greene County Jail in Springfield before Judge Lisa Henderson. Norton did not have any legal representation at the hearing, and the case was continued until 1:30 Tuesday afternoon in Dallas County. Norton and 58-year old James Phelps, also listing the Moonvalley address as his residence are both accused of the kidnapping of 33-year old Cassidy Rainwater.

Court documents show that on September 16th, the FBI contacted detectives in Dallas County saying they received some photos from an anonymous person that showed Cassidy Rainwater in a cage.

A detective recognized Rainwater in a cage in a partially nude state. After searching Phelps’ phone, officials discovered seven photos of Rainwater.

Dallas County authorities say Rainwater stayed with Phelps at his home while she got on her feet. Phelps claims she had left in the middle of the night one night at the end of July, and he had not seen her since then.