Remains of missing Williamsburg woman found in Tennessee

The remains of a Williamsburg woman, who has been missing for nearly five years, have been found in Tennessee.

Williamsburg Police Public Affairs Officer Steven Hill confirmed Wednesday morning that the remains of Laura A. Anderson were located last week near the Cleveland, Tennessee area. The discovery was initially made by children who were riding four-wheelers and noticed skeletal remains, according to Hill.

While the remains have positively been identified as that of Anderson, Hill said that no other test results had been returned. For that reason, no cause of death has been determined.

Information regarding whether investigators believe Anderson was killed in the area where her remains were found or if they were placed there later could not be released.

The case regarding Anderson’s disappearance and death is still under investigation, according to police.

Anderson was last seen alive on Feb. 11, 2018, at the Pilot Travel Center off Exit 11, after getting into a fight with her boyfriend. In March 2018, police and emergency responders conducted a ground search in the Exit 11 area in addition to a search of the Cumberland River without turning up any signs of Anderson.

On Aug. 27, 2018, authorities caught a break in the case when Joseph Bauer, who was in jail at the time for charges unrelated to Anderson’s disappearance, contacted Williamsburg police confessing to his involvement in Anderson’s death. At the time, he wasn’t on police radar involving the disappearance.

Bauer initially told police that Anderson’s body was dumped in the Clear Fork River at the Savoy Bridge, which prompted an extensive water and ground search of the area that turned up a bone, which later was determined not to be human. Bauer later told police that the body had been disposed of off Dal Road. A search of the area revealed bones, though officials determined the they weren’t human.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Bauer pleaded guilty on July 15, 2019, to criminal facilitation to commit murder, facilitation to commit first-degree robbery, possession of a handgun and criminal complicity to commit tampering with physical evidence. The plea deal offered Bauer an incentive to tell authorities where Anderson’s remains were located, in which prosecutors would tell the Kentucky Parole Board about Bauer’s cooperation when he became eligible for parole.

Bauer refused to speak further about the body’s location during his Sept. 16, 2019, sentencing hearing when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Throughout the investigation, police have believed that Bauer was merely an accomplice to Anderson’s disappearance and not the actual facilitator.