Police probe city woman's death

State police are investigating the death of a Waynesboro woman found two-and-a-half days after her husband reported her missing to Waynesboro authorities.

Troopers using bloodhounds discovered Dannell Kraus, 32, Sunday afternoon 100 yards down a mountainside off the Howardsville Turnpike in Augusta County. Earlier in the day, police found an abandoned 2001 Chevrolet Blazer along the road, but did not begin the search until after speaking with her husband, John.

An autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke found no signs of foul play, according to a statement released Monday by state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

John Kraus said troopers called him Sunday afternoon after they impounded his Blazer. Kraus said when he mentioned to state police he’d reported his wife missing, they told him the information did not appear when they ran a check of the license plate.

“That’s when everything started happening,” he said. “I can’t believe [Waynesboro police] did not file the damn report. The Virginia State Police found the vehicle at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon and didn’t know of the missing-person report.”

Kraus, who spoke Monday with a reporter by phone, said he went to Waynesboro police at 9:20 a.m. Friday to report his wife missing. Waynesboro police Sgt. Kelly Walker said the department is conducting an internal investigation.

“Waynesboro dropped the damn ball,” Kraus said. “I’m not saying the outcome would be different, but we pay taxes, you know, we were let down.”

Walker did not say whether police logged the missing person report into the National Criminal Information Center, nor would he identify the officer who took the report.

“After speaking with several people in the police department, the timeline to the missing persons report is under investigation,” Walker said. “We want to make sure that we’re accurate.”

Before police enter a missing person’s report into the information center database, certain criteria must be met, Walker said. He declined to elaborate on the criteria, which he said are extensive.

Several members of Dannell Kraus’ family said she enjoyed gardening, painting and serving as a Sunday school teacher at Main Street United Methodist Church in Waynesboro. Kraus worked as a stay-at-home mom for her two daughters, ages 4 and 11.

Kraus, who did not live with his wife, said he and Dannell separated, but still raised their children, ate dinner and spent most of their time together. He said they met through her brother in Danville and “it took off from there.”

When Kraus spoke about his wife, his voice quivered.

“It’s hard to even talk about it,” he said, searching for ways to describe her. “She was into doing crafts, and at the best of times she was a great mother. I remember when they used to have rock ’n’ roll Jeopardy, she used to be able to go through the whole thing and not miss even two.”