The body located in a vehicle in a cornfield on New Bildad Road on August 9, has been positively identified as a young Smithville woman reported missing a week before.

According to DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray and Smithville Police Chief Mark Collis, the remains of 29-year-old Rebecca Ann Maxfield of Smithville has been identified, and the case is under investigation.

At approximately 3:23 p.m. on August 9, 2024, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department received a call of a body that was found on New Bildad Road. The body was located in a vehicle in a cornfield and was sent to Nashville for an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Sheriff Ray and Chief Collins state that a missing-persons report was filed on August 4, 2024. The report states a friend reported Ms. Maxfield had not responded back to them for a couple of days. Authorities say Maxfield's phone was pinging in Warren County where she was last seen.

Both the Smithville Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department were working together with the Warren County Sheriff's Department when the remains were discovered in DeKalb County.

On Monday, August 19, Warren County Sheriff Jackie D. Matheny, Jr. announced the arrest of Joshua Wayne Goff for abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. The arrest is the result of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office working with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, Smithville Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney’s offices from both the Warren and DeKalb counties in the investigation regarding the death of Maxfield.  

Goff was taken into custody, and booked into the Warren County Jail under a $60,000 bond.  He will appear before General Sessions Judge Ryan J. Moore for arraignment.

Authorities say the investigation into Maxfield’s death is ongoing.  Sheriff Matheny urges anyone who might have any information regarding Ms. Maxfield’s death to contact Investigator Calvin Hammond at (931) 473-8032, or email him at chammond@warrencountytn.gov.