Vandalia Police received a missing persons report Wednesday, April 4th at 6:38 PM. The individual who filed the report told police 28 year old Amanda Bitter, of Kaibeto, Arizona, did not return to her motel room after going out on April 3. Bitter was last seen heading northbound on Kennedy Boulevard at Gallatin Street at 12:12 AM that day.
At 1:30 AM today (Thursday), a Vandalia Police Officer located skid marks in the grass in the 500 block of North Kennedy Boulevard. The skid marks went towards a ravine with deep flood waters. A Vandalia Police Officer who is a member of the Fayette County EMA Dive team and two other members of the dive team searched the water for a vehicle. At 4:12 AM the dive team located a 2007 Chevy Cobalt in the water. Amanda Bitter was found in the vehicle deceased.
The Vandalia Police Department was assisted by the Illinois State Police, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Fayette County EMA Dive Team, Fayette County Ambulance, Rural Med Ambulance, Fayette County Coroner and McDowell’s Service.
