Taney County cold case involving 1992 rape, assault transferred to Ozark County court

A 30-year-old cold case involving the reported rape, assault and kidnapping of two  Texas women who were vacationing in Branson in 1992 has been transferred to Ozark County from its originating county of Taney. Tony L. Wagner of Fort Scott, Kansas, is charged with four counts of assault in the first-degree, forcible rape and kidnapping, all felonies. 

The case was transferred to Ozark County before Ozark County Associate Judge Raymond Gross on April 20. A jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 21-25 with a pre-trial conference scheduled for July 17 in Taney County court. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case, the original report filed on Aug. 14, 1992, stated that two women traveled by themselves to Branson from Texas for vacation. On Aug. 15, 1992, both women visited the Henning State Park, located on West Highway 76 in Branson in order to walk the trails there, which are located in a hilly and remote area, the documents say. 

While on the trail hiking, the women were surprised by a man who reportedly took a rock and began striking them in the head. The man drug one woman away from the immediate vicinity of the other woman and reportedly assaulted her. 

In 2008, the sexual assault/rape kit was performed on one woman, and the test was sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime lab, focusing on DNA. An item from the kit was determined to possess a male sperm fraction and a suspect DNA profile was developed. 

Based on circumstantial and the original suspect description, the investigation focused first on Tony Wagner for potential inclusion or exclusion based on DNA evidence. 

“An immediate location for Tony Wagner was difficult to acquire utilizing normal sources of information. A possible address in the Fort Scott, Kansas, area was located. The Fort Scott, Kansas, Police Department was contacted and requested for assistance,” a report by Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. J. Trammell said. 

Eventually a discarded Styrofoam cup with lid and straw was collected from a trash can after Wagner threw it away. It was seized by a Ford Scott officer and turned over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The discarded cup was submitted to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime lab for testing and subsequent comparison to the suspect DNA profile in Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) since 2008.

The laboratory evaluated the discarded cup, lid and straw and was able to identify a single DNA profile with male characteristics. The DNA profile developed from the discarded item from Tony Wagner was compared to the suspect DNA profile in CODIS since 2008 and was determined to be a match. 

The officer also stated in his report that “It is known that Mr. Wagner frequents a local community center with children present. He is known to be employed as an evening custodian at a local private school in Fort Scott. Mr. Wagner was involved in a disturbance in January of 2022 in Fort Scott where he threatened a juvenile at the local community center.”