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SANTA CLARA, Washington County — Was a Santa Clara man who was missing for nearly a month before his badly decomposed remains were found left to die along the Arizona Strip?
Francis Lee McCard, one of the suspects accused of kidnapping David Heisler, claimed that after he took Heisler from his house and drove to the Strip using Heisler's own vehicle, he "admitted to leaving David out in the desert approximately 40 miles from St. George. He said he was alive when he last saw him," according to a search warrant unsealed Tuesday in 5th District Court.
Police believe Heisler was kidnapped from his home by his former girlfriend and the mother of his daughter, Kelley Marie Perry, 31, and her boyfriend, McCard, 55, on June 27.
His badly decomposed body was found Aug. 18 in the Mount Trumball area along the Arizona Strip by a Bureau of Land Management geologist. A cause of death had not been determined as of Tuesday, but the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said it is being treated as a homicide.
Perry and McCard, both of Washington, are charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, and theft, a second-degree felony.
The alleged kidnapping came a week after a judge awarded Heisler full custody of his 6-year-old daughter. Following the custody hearing, McCard was overheard telling Perry he would "fix" the custody issue, according to another search warrant.
Heisler's car was found abandoned July 1 in Beaver Dam, Arizona. A bullet casing was found inside the car, as well as blood on the car's exterior.
