Missing woman's body found in Lake Lewisville, husband faces felony charge

The husband of a missing woman whose body was found in Lake Lewisville over the weekend is facing multiple felony charges including abuse of a corpse, police say.

Plano Police said 32-year-old Sarah Dudley was reported missing on Saturday after being last seen along the 7000 block of Bishop Road near Legacy Town Center.

On Monday, police in The Colony notified Plano investigators they had recovered a woman's body from Lake Lewisville and that she may be connected to their missing person case. Two days later, the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the woman found in the lake was Dudley, though her official cause of death was listed as "undetermined."

Plano police told NBC 5 Thursday morning that the woman's husband, 37-year-old Karlton Dudley, had been arrested Wednesday and was being held in the Collin County Jail. According to Detective Jerry Minton with the Plano Police Department, Dudley reported his wife missing just before 11 p.m. Saturday.

Dudley told investigators he saw Sarah earlier Saturday before he left their home to take care of a friend's cat. He reportedly told investigators he went to the Hidden Cove marina by Lake Lewisville and decided to go kayaking at about 5 p.m.. He said Sarah should have been at work at this time.

According to Minton, Sarah's employer told police she never made it to work that day. Eventually, investigators began looking at the ankle monitor worn by Karlton Dudley from an unrelated case in Frisco.

"They were able to pull the data off the monitor and it placed him at the lake as he was saying around the same time frame that he was at, but it actually puts him into the water. Not just on the shore," Minton said. "Based on the totality of all of those circumstances and everything and where the body was found and where the GPS put him at, they were able to obtain a warrant for his arrest."

Jail records show Dudley was being held on bonds totaling $560,000 for charges of abuse of a corpse and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

NBC 5 News

Abuse of a corpse generally describes a situation where a person disposes of a person's body in an unlawful way. Police confirmed to NBC 5 the abuse of a corpse charge is related to Sarah's disappearance, though they have not yet confirmed any further information about the case or provided any other details about the child sex assault charge.

Jail records did not indicate if Dudley has obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

The incident is being investigated by the Plano Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit and The Colony Police Department. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Plano Police Department at 972-941-2148.