Missing Man’s Remains in MCI Longterm Lot for 8 Months Before Discovery

Randy Potter was reported missing eight months ago, but last week authorities discovered his body had been decomposing in a truck parked at Kansas City International the entire time.

A grieving family finally has some measure of closure over the mysterious disappearance of their loved one, but a grisly discovery at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) has raised new questions as well. The body of Randy Potter was found in a truck parked in an airport longterm parking lot on September 12, but the Kansas man was last seen alive on January 17.

Police say that Potter died in an apparent suicide shortly after he was reported missing. Authorities now believe the 53-year-old’s remains were likely at the airport the entire time he was being sought as a missing person.

“How is it possible, in America?” Carolina Potter said to The Kansas City Star after being told of her husband’s fate. “A truck sitting there for eight months? He could have been found a lot sooner if everybody had done their job.”

Law enforcement officials say they discovered the remains after being alerted to a “foul odor” emanating from the truck. Because the body was so badly decomposed, it then took several more days to identify the remains as Potter’s.

“The City of Kansas City and its Aviation Department express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Randy Potter,” spokesperson Chris Hernandez said in a statement. “We wish them peace during this difficult time. We are working with all parties to determine the facts involved, including SP Plus, which manages the 25,000 parking spaces at Kansas City International Airport.”

Potter’s loved ones are also determined to get to the bottom of how a dead body could go unnoticed at a busy airport while a highly publicized hunt for a missing person was underway. The family has hired Kansas City attorney John Picerno to help them get answers.

“It’s amazing that he wasn’t found in June or July,” Picerno told reporters. “Our goal is to find out what happened and why. What was done, what wasn’t done. And to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen again to somebody.”

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