Columbia man arrested in wife’s death

A Columbia man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office reported this week.

Robert Presson contacted authorities July 25 to report his 58-year-old wife, Jeane, missing. He told deputies she had walked away from the residence July 19 and had not returned.

Investigating the missing-person case, detectives interviewed several people and gathered information that led them to an isolated area off Springfield Road in Columbia. Presson’s body was found Aug. 7, though due to decomposition, it could not be positively identified until an autopsy was done.

Sheriff’s detectives were assisted by other agencies in an investigation involving several search warrants. Presson, 56, gave several statements in which he implicated himself in his wife’s disappearance and death, the Sheriff’s Office reported. His involvement also was determined through evidence collected and analyzed, the office said.

Presson was arrested Tuesday and is in Tuolumne County jail with bail set at $1 million.

Information on the cause of Jeane Presson’s death has not been released.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Columbia man arrested in wife’s death."