Law-enforcement officials in Phillips County, AR, say a woman’s body found a month ago in the Mississippi River is missing trucker Christine Wordlow.

The Arkansas trucker’s rig was found empty and abandoned on the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi River near Memphis, TN, Feb. 23. The city’s homicide unit was investigating her disappearance, but police officials said she had likely committed suicide.

Phillips County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles Norman told Land Line a local crime lab confirmed through tests that the body was Wordlow’s, but added no cause of death had yet been determined, and police did not think foul play was involved.

“They’re saying that she did jump,” Norman said. “That’s what I would say, is that it is a suicide, from their investigation.”

Wordlow, 43, a Romance, AR, resident who drove for CR England Trucking of Salt Lake City, was listed as missing soon after her rig was found. She was last seen Feb. 22 in West Memphis, AR, at the Williams truckstop after her rig had been involved in a minor accident, said Mike Allen, public affairs officer with the West Memphis police.

Soon afterward, she headed east across the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, which carries the interstate over the Mississippi.

The next day, Sunday, Feb. 23, her truck was found on the Memphis end of the bridge. Her keys were in the ignition, police said, and the passenger side door of the truck was left open. There was no sign of Wordlow.

LaTonya Able of the Memphis Police indicated early in the investigation that police suspected suicide. In addition, Allen said initial reports indicated the trucker had been taking some type of depression medication and had reportedly told others her current run would be her last trip as a trucker for the company.

The Memphis Police alerted the Coast Guard, which checked the river for her. Her driver’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Computer system and given to local media outlets. However, for weeks, police received no solid leads in the case.

The body was found in the river the week of April 14 near Helena, AR, a small town about 70 miles south of Memphis. Officials quickly ordered tests to determine whether the body was Wordlow.

Norman said Wordlow’s family had been informed of the test results.

--by Mark H. Reddig, associate editor

Mark Reddig can be reached at mreddig@landlinemag.com.