The Missouri Highway Patrol says that it cannot confirm the identity of the body, but local media reports quoting the father say it is that of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton of Golden City.
Officials did not disclose the condition of the body or precisely where it was found.
Adriaunna was playing at a park near her Missouri home on Monday evening just before she was reported missing. Witnesses say she climbed into a vehicle around 5 p.m.
That vehicle was found at about 6:30 p.m. The driver Bobby Bourne Jr. was in the car, but there was no sign of Adriaunna.
But the youngster was not with him. That sparked a huge search involving hundreds of volunteers from the area.
Bourne, 34, of Lamar, is being held under $1 million bond on a charge of kidnapping. Adriaunna’s father says Bourne once worked for him and that their children played together.