COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (WANE) – Rodney Houser is charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Debra Houser. Houser has been missing since Wednesday. Authorities believe he killed Houser on November 17 or 18.

Cadaver dogs from the Huntington County EMD have been brought in to search for Houser’s body which is presumed to be somewhere in rural Whitley County.

In a probable cause affidavit filed Friday, November 20, by the Whitley County Prosecuter, a confidential informant came to the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department on November 18 and stated that Rodney Houser came to the informant’s home in Waynedale in Fort Wayne and asked him to dispose of a bag of items and help him get rid of a dodge vehicle.
Houser then took the bag and threw it away in a trash can at the informant’s home. Afterwards, the two drove to an American Legion Post where Houser took the license plate off the Durango and left the ride in the parking lot.

During a ride back to Houser’s home in Whitley County, the informant said Houser told him that he had killed his ex-wife, Debra Houser, and needed help burying her body which had been hidden a short distance from the home.

When they arrived at the Whitley County home, Houser got out of the informant’s vehicle and said he was going in to change clothes and get a shovel. It was then the informant drove to the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department to report what Houser had told him.

After the informant’s report, Sheriff Hodges went to the home, located at 4140 West Old Trail Road , where Houser was last seen and placed him into his custody.

The affidavit indicates Houser told the sheriff that Debra went to work early that day and he had not seen her since. Employees at the Post and Mail, where Ms. Houser worked, told authorities that she had not come to work, nor did she call in.

An interview with Debra’s daughter revealed that Mr. Houser had been staying with Ms. Houser for about a month and a half, despite the fact that they had been divorced for several years. The two are parents to a nine-year-old boy.

The affidavit also included information about a bag that had been found inside the trash can that the informant said had been put there by Houser. The bag contained Debra’s purse, cell phone, women’s pants, men’s pants and shirt which had what appeared to be fresh blood stains, as well as a pair of cowboy boots.

Ms. Houser’s body has not yet been found, but police continue to search the area around the home. The affidavit stated that all evidence indicates that Debra Houser is deceased.

Houser is scheduled to have an initial hearing on Monday, November 23, 2009.