A search for a registered sex offender on Wednesday morning resulted in the Callaway County woman being placed in jail on a court-set cash-only bond of $50,000.
The investigation into the whereabouts of Mary Ella Ashing, 28, began at 10:14 a.m. at a residence in the 900 block of Court Street. Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism said Ashing is a registered sex offender and recently absconded from the sex offender reporting requirements as set forth by state law.
Ashing was further wanted reference two Callaway County felony arrest warrants for fail to register as a sex offender (probation violation).
On Jan. 21 last year, Ashing was arrested after a narcotics search made by deputies near Mokane where deputies found meth, pills and marijuana. At that time, a second person was arrested in that case, and Ashing was arrested for felony failure to register as a sex offender.
She had been previously convicted of first-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with a child younger than 14 years old. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol sex offender list, at the time of the offense, the offender was age 17 and the male victim was 12.
The offender list also reports a Portland apartment as Ashing's address.