A dismembered leg dredged from a Tennessee creek on the Fourth of July was positively identified as belonging to an alleged sexual predator and one of the county’s most wanted criminals, police announced.

The decomposing appendage was determined to be part of Joseph Frank Benton, who has been missing since he was slapped with 40 charges for unlawful possession of dozens of weapons, explosives and sexual exploitation of a minor in 2024.

After more than a year on the lam, he’s also facing extra charges for violating his probation.

Joseph Frank Benton has been missing since he was slapped with 40 charges for unlawful possession of dozens of weapons, explosives and sexual exploitation of a minor in 2024. Springfield Police Dept.

The body part was fished out of the Sulphur Fork Creek, a 17

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