Police confirm body found in east Wichita park was missing woman. More details

Police found evidence of foul play in the apartment of the 31-year-old Wichita woman whose body was found Tuesday in Cottonwood Park in east Wichita, police spokesperson Andrew Ford said Friday morning.

The news release Friday morning provided more details into the killing of Mariana Christian, including that she was shot and that the body had been positively identified as hers.

Kyle Bearden, who family and friends say Christian was letting stay with her until he got on his feet, has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder.

Christian once struggled with homelessness after aging out of foster care and did what she could to help others as her life turned a corner, family and friends said. She was reported missing by a friend around 10:30 a.m. on July 21 after the friend went to her apartment in the 1200 block of S. Paige and found 31-year-old Bearden.

“He (told the friend that Christian) had left the apartment on Friday, July 18, in a truck with an unknown man and woman and hadn’t returned,” Ford said in the news release. “He also expressed concern for her safety. Although not listed on the lease, the man appeared to be living in the apartment.”

Christian was last seen on July 19 near Harry and Rock, police said.

Crime scene investigators found evidence of foul play in her apartment, Ford said.

“They followed leads to locate Ms. Christian, discovering evidence of her death and where her remains were left in Cottonwood Park near Armor and Bayley,” Ford said.

Bearden was arrested on Tuesday.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 10:32 AM.