A pursuit that began in Wayne County and continued through several counties in Tennessee and then back into Kentucky resulted in the arrest of a local man early Saturday, May 10.

According to information released by Wayne County Sheriff Charles Boston, Kyle Matthews, 21, was arrested in the Alpha community and charged with reckless driving, fleeing and evading police first degree, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, wanton endangerment and driving on a suspended license.

Matthews was lodged in the Wayne County Detention Center.

Boston said that the pursuit began in the early morning hours when an officer with the Monticello Police Department attempted to stop Matthews on Michigan Avenue for driving on the wrong side of the street. The driver would not stop for the blue lights and sirens, and police then pursued the vehicle.

The Monticello Police Department and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the pursuit which continued through Wayne County into Pickett County, Tennessee, Fentress County, Tennessee, Scott County, Tennessee and then into Clinton County.

Boston said the vehicle traveled back into Wayne County and came to a stop at a residence off KY 90 in the Alpha community, and that is where the arrest was made.

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A woman’s body, found in rural Wayne County in April, has been identified as that of an elderly Science Hill woman who had been

missing for a significant period of time.

Officials identified the woman as Faye B. Whiteford, 96, of Maggie Lane in Science Hill. Her body was found at an empty residence on Brammer Hill Ridge Road in Wayne County on April 23 by a Pulaski County detective.

Wayne County Coroner Forrest Hicks said that the victim was identified using teeth and dental records. He indicated that her cause and manner of death is still under investigation by the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Whiteford’s identity and the story of how her remains ended up at a property in Wayne County were released last week by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. She had apparently been dead since the spring of 2011, and her body had been kept in a freezer in the home she shared with her son, Jon Whiteford, who was her caretaker.

Information about her death did not become available to officials until earlier this year. Pulaski County officials became involved in a search for Ms. Whiteford, who was a retired teacher, in February 2014 when detectives were contacted by agents with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). They were seeking assistance in locating Faye Whiteford and her son, Jon Whiteford.

The OIG agents were investigating a referral from the Social Security Administration concerning benefits being paid to Faye Whiteford. In the referral, the Social Security Administration noted that Whiteford had not made a medical claim of any type in about three years. The lack of medical billing for a 96-year-old flagged in the system for a welfare check on her condition and to verify if she might be deceased.

Agents with OIG also contacted the Office of Vital Statistics but found no record of Ms. Whiteford being deceased. OIG agents informed detectives that Jon Whiteford had access to his mother’s finances and needed to be contacted regarding her status.

Deputies visited the Whiteford residence on Maggie Lane in Science Hill, but found it abandoned.. As the investigation was being conducted, Jon Whiteford visited the social security office in Pulaski County on March 6 to apply for his own benefits. He was interviewed at that time and again on March 13 by OIG agents and detectives with the Somerset Police Department.

Jon Whiteford told them that he had been living in his car after having his home repossessed. Also during the interviews, Whiteford confirmed that his mother was deceased but he did not disclose how or when she died or the location of her body.

Apparently, Ms. Whiteford had been bedfast for several years and her son was her sole caretaker, according to detectives.

Their next contact with Whiteford was on March 29, when deputies learned that he had been staying at a friend’s home at 84 Maggie Lane in Science Hill. That was next door to the home that he and his mother had previously lived in. The owners of 84 Maggie Lane reside in Lexington and have given Jon Whiteford a key to the home to care for the residence.

A Pulaski County deputy approached the home to speak with Jon Whiteford when he turned a handgun on himself and committed suicide.

His suicide left a host of unanswered questions for investigators.

They searched the area of both homes but could find no signs of Ms. Whiteford.

On April 22, detectives from Pulaski County, the Pulaski County Coroner’s Office and special agents with the OIG met with K-9 units from the Kenton County Sheriff’s Department and the Grand County Sheriff’s Department to search the area around the Maggie Lane homes for any sign of Ms. Whiteford’s remains. The search was unsuccessful.

During the investigation into Jon Whiteford’s activities before his death, detectives learned that he had been trying to rent a property at 2611 Brammer Hill Ridge Road in Wayne County. The residence is an older home that was in need of repair before occupancy.

On April 23, a Pulaski County detective went to that address in

search of Ms. Whiteford’s remains. He stated that the residence was unoccupied but there were signs that made it appear someone had been working at the home.

While looking around the property, the detective found a tied-up tarp, partially covered with a wooden box, in the front yard of the home. It appeared that someone had simply set the tarp out in the yard at the edge of the drive. After untying the tarp, a body, later identified as Faye Whiteford, was found inside.

In a statement released to the media last week, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department stated that during the investigation they interviewed several acquaintances of Jon and Faye Whiteford. Those interviews uncovered several facts in the case, including information that Faye Whiteford had been bedfast for several years in the Science Hill residence.

Jon Whiteford had been her primary caregiver and was her power of attorney on record therefore giving him access to all her finances.

Officials said the interviews revealed that Faye Whiteford passed away of natural causes sometime around the spring of 2011.

After she died, Jon Whiteford decided he needed to continue drawing his mother’s social security and retirement benefits and made what officials describe as a “fateful decision.” He purchased a freezer and kept his mother’s remains in the freezer from 2011 until he was forced to move from his home sometime around December 2013.

At that time, investigators believe he was forced to clean out his residence and decided to take his mother’s remains to the Wayne County home he was preparing to rent. With the very cold winter in the area, the remains likely remained frozen until spring.

Police said they have shared details of the investigation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Pulaski County, but since the person responsible for these actions is deceased, no charges will be pursued.

There are still many unanswered questions in this investigation and detectives are still seeking information from anyone who has had contact with Jon Whiteford over the last several months.

Investigators would also like to speak to anyone who may have helped Jon Whiteford clean out his home or move any belongs from his home.

Anyone with more information is asked to call the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department at (606) 678-5145.

“The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office would like to express our sympathy to the friends and family of Ms. Faye Whiteford,” said Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood. “Our thoughts and prayers are extended to them as they deal with the death of their loved one and the horrendous manner in which she was treated.”