Authorities are releasing the name of a Belle Plaine woman who has been missing since last week.
    However, investigators have not confirmed if she is linked to a drowning death in a local pond reported earlier this week.
    According to a press release issued by the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday, the office took a missing persons report in the disappearance of Rhonda Matt, 48, of Belle Plaine.
    Matt had last been seen several days earlier by family members and acquaintances.
    On Monday afternoon, the body of a white female was discovered in a privately owned pond located two and a half miles northeast of Belle Plaine.
    Sumner County Sheriff Gerald Gilkey says the 10 to 12 acre pond is used for fishing and is “rather deep.”
    The body of the woman was taken to the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center in Wichita for autopsy and positive identification. Examinations of the unknown woman are pending.
    Gilkey says there were no clear indications of a cause of death and officials are waiting for results from the autopsy to continue the investigation further.
    Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office at 326-8941, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-KS-CRIME, or the Sumner County Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.