Missouri father of one of Cassidy Rainwater’s sons prepares for the worst

By ANGIE RICONO, GREG MILOTA, CYNDI FAHRLANDER

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — The missing persons case of Cassidy Rainwater has grabbed national attention. It’s heartbreaking for those who know her well.

“I don’t think the end result is going to be one that anybody wants to hear,” said Ben.

Our investigative team met up with Ben near his home in the metro area. He is the biological father to one of Rainwater’s sons. We found him by combing through old court records and agreed not to use his full name.

Ben and Cassidy met when she lived in Harrisonville; she went to high school there. They were never married, but they remained friends and communicated often. Their son is 16 now and lives with another family outside of the area.

“It’s kind of rare for her to disappear,” said Ben. “We talked several times a year.”

But, they last talked in May of 2019. That was 30 months ago.

Then, last month, Ben got word of Cassidy’s disappearance by the adoptive parents of his biological son.

Ben says the family is trying to shield their son from news surrounding Rainwater’s case.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department continues its investigation into her disappearance and there are still more questions than answers.

We do know that two men, James Phelps and Timothy Norton, are charged with kidnapping and terrorizing her at a house in the Ozark area. More charges may be coming. Pictures have been found of her partially nude and in a cage.

Phelps’ house burned to the ground last week. And, a new report from the Springfield Fire Department revealed that two devices — homemade bombs with tripwires — were found on Phelps’ property.

“It’s shocking. It’s… it’s devastating,” said Ben as he tried to find words to describe his feelings. “I can’t even process the feeling right now, to be honest with you.”

According to court documents, Phelps told police when he was questioned that Rainwater had been staying on his property while she “got back on her feet.” But, he said she left in the middle of the night.

Rainwater did struggle at times and Ben said in their last conversation he offered help, believing Rainwater was homeless and trying to support another child he’s not biologically related to.

“I always worried about her, just because of her past,” said Ben. “She was in a bad way. She and I talked and I was like, ‘You know, come to Kansas City. We’ll get things figured out.’ She was hoping to get her life back together.”

For now, Ben can only wait while the investigation continues, admitting those who know Cassidy are bracing for the worst.

“It’s not going to be good,” said Ben.

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