Missing McHenry County Woman Presumed Dead: Judge

WOODSTOCK, IL — Two weeks after Illinois State Police announced that burned human remains could be those of a missing Woodstock woman, a McHenry County judge granted her husband's request to have her presumed dead. Benedetta "Beth" Bentley was 41 when she vanished in Centralia, Illinois, while on a trip with a friend. The friend told police she dropped Bentley off at a train station on May 23, 2010, and that Bentley was heading home.

She never made it back to McHenry County, and police said there's no evidence she ever got on the train.

Last week, McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel issued an order granting husband Scott Bentley's request to have Beth Bentley presumed dead. The ruling grants Scott Bentley control over the estate of his wife, who did not have any assets or a will, the Northwest Herald reported.

In the rulling, Chmiel wrote that Bentley "has been continuously absent for seven years from her home without explanation."

Bentley, a mother of three, on May 20 told her husband that she was going to Wisconsin with friend Jennifer Wyatt-Paplham to visit Wyatt-Paplham's relatives, the Chicago Tribune reported. Instead, the two reportedly drove to Mt. Vernon to visit Wyatt-Paplham's boyfriend and spend a weekend at a nearby lake.

Three days later, Wyatt-Paplham told authorities she dropped Bentley off at the train station. Since then, police say there has been no activity on her cell phone, bank account or credit cards.

Remains that police say may be Bentley's were found earlier this month in rural Jefferson County.

"Suspected human remains and other evidence were recovered at the location," Woodstock police said Dec. 14. "Investigators are attempting to positively identify the remains, which were badly burned."

The case remains an active one for Woodstock and Illinois State Police. Authorities asked anyone who has information on Bentley's disappearance to contact state police at 618-542-2171 or the Woodstock Police Department at 815-338-2131.

Photo of Beth Bentley via Illinois State Police