Arrest Made In Jefferson County Missing Person Investigation

(Jefferson Co., MO) An arrest has been made in a missing person investigation in Jefferson County.

21 year old Thomas E. “Tedo” Gamble, formally of Potosi, was arrested in connection to the 2021 disappearance of John Paul Parton, of High Ridge. Parton was reported missing to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on May 28, 2021. The arrest of Gamble was the result of a joint investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 28, 2021, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into the disappearance of Parton. Investigators learned that Parton was murdered on May 18, 2021, at a location in St. Francois County. On April 25, 2024, the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney formally charged Gamble, with first degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence, and abandonment of a corpse. At that time, a no bond warrant was issued for Gamble’s arrest.

On May 1, 2024, Gamble was arrested in Port Allen, Louisiana, by the Port Allen Police Department, with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service. Gamble is currently being held in the West Baton Rouge Jail, where he is awaiting extradition to Missouri. At this time, Parton’s body has not yet been located.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office ask that anyone with information about Parton’s murder and/or disappearance to contact Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Jason Ashby at 314-608-2764.