Online petition asks for police video in missing Wichita woman case

A new petition to get police to release footage of the last whereabouts Toni Anderson doesn’t seem likely to succeed.

At least until the case has been closed, according to a Kansas City (Mo.) Police Department spokesman.

Toni Anderson, who graduated from Wichita East High School in 2014, has been missing since Jan. 15.

Anderson had just left her job at a Kansas City strip club called Chrome at around 4 a.m. that day and was reportedly on her way to meet friends near downtown Kansas City when she was pulled over by a North Kansas City police officer.

A group, including Anderson’s boyfriend, started a petition late last month to pressure police to release dash camera and other footage they might have of Anderson from the day she went missing.

That seems unlikely to happen, according to Darin Snapp of the Kansas City Police Department, who cited Missouri law.

“After the case is close, the entire case file will be public record,” Snapp said in an e-mail on Thursday.

Pointing to a Missouri state statute (section 610.100.2) that states “mobile video recordings and investigative reports of all law enforcement agencies are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive,” Snapp said state law prohibits the department from releasing video at this time.

As of Thursday morning, the Care 2 petition had more than 1,900 supporters. Anderson’s friends have posted updates on her Facebook page.

“We are asking that the Kansas City (Missouri) Police Department & North Kansas city police department release any surveillance, street, dash cam videos to the public,” the petition reads.

Anderson was scheduled to start spring semester classes last month at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, according to the school.

This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 8:26 AM with the headline "Online petition asks for police video in missing Wichita woman case."