The West Virginia State police are reporting they have solved a missing person cold-case.
According to West Virginia State Police Deputy Chief of Staff Captain R. A. Maddy, an arrest has been made in the disappearance of James Johansen, who disappeared from Greenbrier County in 2007.
According to the press release, in June 2007, the Lewisburg detachment of the state police received a missing person complaint pertaining to Johansen, a 53-year-old male from the Lewisburg area. Johansen had not been contacted by friends or neighbors for a period of time before his disappearance.
After an extensive investigation by numerous West Virginia State Troopers over the next 14 years, a break in the case evolved.
The Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office received a call in September of 2021, of skeletal remains located near Muddy Creek Mountain, in Greenbrier County. The Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office crime scene team along with members of the WVSP Lewisburg detachment collected the remains and other evidence at the scene.
The Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office completed a crime scene report and eventually discovered the remains belonged to Johansen.
Members of the WVSP Lewisburg detachment, and the WVSP Bureau of Criminal Investigations continued the investigation based on the discovery of Johansen’s body and the previous investigative report.
After investigating new and old leads, troopers presented Greenbrier County Prosecutor Pat Via with an investigative report. Based on the report, Via decided to present the investigation to the Greenbrier County Grand Jury in October 2022 resulting in an indictment for murder and first-degree robbery on Charles Michael “Cason” Kessinger.
West Virginia State Troopers traveled to San Antonio, Texas, in October 2022 where Kessinger was arrested at his home by the Texas Rangers and Texas Department of Public Safety. Kessinger was extradited back to West Virginia by members of the West Virginia State Police and is currently being housed in Southern Regional Jail.
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| James Johansen was reported missing in 2007. |
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| Charles Michael “Cason” Kessinger has been extradited from Texas and is lodged in the Southern Regional Jail, charged with murder and first-degree robbery. |
