Robert Bee Went Missing in 2016 — His Alleged Killer Was Arrested 9 Years Later

Nearly a decade ago, the small city of Pekin, Ill., was placed in a state of panic after a 13-year-old boy, Robert Bee Jr., was reported missing on Nov. 18, 2016. But the panic wasn’t immediate at the time, because his family was under the impression that he had simply run away from home. According to the PJ Star, it was typical of Bee to run away from home, and on the day he disappeared, he had also skipped school, something else he often did.

But Bee never returned after that day, and after a months-long investigation, remains that belonged to him were found in July 2017. Fast forward to April 2026, and a suspect has been arrested in connection with Bee’s death. Here’s everything to know about it.

On April 8, 2026, a breakthrough came in the missing persons case involving Robert Bee Jr. An individual named Keith A. Brackett (who has asked to be addressed as a woman) was arrested in Tazewell County in connection with Bee’s death. Brackett, 48, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealment of a homicidal death. News outlets say Brackett had recently been paroled from the Illinois Department of Corrections before the arrest on April 8.

If convicted, Brackett could face between 20 and 60 years in prison for first-degree murder, plus another 10 years for concealing the body, Fox 2 Now reports. Brackett is scheduled to appear for arraignment on April 23, 2026, where she will enter a plea.

Tazewell County State’s Attorney Kevin Johnson told WBCU that “it would be fair to say” Brackett was a person of interest for a long time, though no reason was given for why it took so long for officials to make an arrest.

Bee ran away from home on Nov. 17, 2016, after a truancy officer and a police officer arrived at his home to take him back to Wilson School since he had skipped class that day. Bee was never found, and his mother, Lisa Bee, reported him missing the next day as a runaway.

The following year, on July 24, 2017, a man mowing his backyard came across a skull, which prompted police to search the area.

They were able to locate more of his skeletal remains. While the remains were confirmed to be Bee’s, his cause of death was initially unknown, though police believed foul play was involved.

And they were right. Bee died as a result of asphyxiation, and it is believed that Brackett strangled him before hiding his body on property grounds where he was tasked with maintaining it, per Fox 2 Now.

Brackett has asked that the court address her using female pronouns, and her gender is listed as female on the Illinois Department of Corrections website.

While news outlets and the sheriff’s office are keeping details about the case and Brackett to a minimum, a probable cause affidavit revealed that she and Bee were friends despite the age gap and that Bee would occasionally visit Brackett’s home.

While Brackett has not been convicted of the crimes yet, public defender Luke Taylor shared, per Fox 2 Now, that roughly 4,000 pages of evidence are being delivered to his office.