Justice Unresolved is a series of articles examining cold cases, disappearances and unsolved crimes that continue to haunt families and communities in America. The stories revisit the known facts, unanswered questions and latest developments in cases where the search for truth is far from over.
Marilyn Briscoe fought for years to bring the truth to the spotlight after her son, Ira Briscoe, from Howell County, Missouri, went missing in 2020. Then, in March 2025, familial reference standards confirmed that remains found in August 2024 in Howell County were those of Ira, who was 25 years old when he disappeared.
While the identification of the remains did give Ira’s family a certain kind of closure, the fight is far from over. Ira’s alleged killer(s) has not been identified or caught, and a family friend says that authorities have “deemed the case a cold case.”
The family friend, Christi Nichols-Clarke, who is close to Ira’s mother, has spoken out about the case in a conversation with HindustanTimes.com.
“No one has ever been arrested in connection with this case,” Christi, whose children went to school at Glenwood Elementary School with Ira, said. “Authorities did question multiple people and unfortunately it led them to dead ends.”
“The family believes they know who committed this crime,” added Christi, who is an outspoken advocate for Ira and the many other missing people in the community.
Identification of Ira’s remains
Skeletal remains were found on August 10, 2024, but inclement weather prevented the full exhumation for days at the time. The remains, along with reference standards obtained from Rodney and Marilyn Briscoe, Ira’s parents, were submitted to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab. The lab reportedly confirmed on March 18, 2025, that the comparison yielded a 99.9999999999% likelihood the recovered remains are the biological child of Rodney and Marilyn.
Marilyn played a huge role in the search for her son after his disappearance, consistently using social media to seek answers and justice.
