The BTK serial killer, locked up on 10 straight life sentences for his 10 confirmed murders, is now the prime suspect in more slayings, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Dennis Rader, whose nom de guerre stands for “bind, torture, kill,” is accused of involvement in the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, who was 16 at the time.

OCSO deputies investigated Rader’s former property in Park City, Kansas, Tuesday, finding possible evidence in the Kinney case and other cold cases in Kansas and Missouri.

“During the search, items of interest were recovered at the former residence of Dennis Rader. These items will undergo thorough examination to determine their potential relevance to the ongoing investigations. At this stage, Dennis Rader is considered a prime suspect in these unsolved cases, including the Cynthia Dawn Kinney case,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Among the other cases Rader is being connected to as a prime suspect is the 1990 disappearance of Shawna Beth Garber, 22 at the time, in McDonald County, Missouri, OCSO Undersheriff Gary Upton told USA Today.

McDonald County Sheriff Rob Evenson told Joplin, Missouri, NBC affiliate KSNF-TV, “Rader has denied any involvement in Garber’s death.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.