By Amy Anderson

Overland Park, KS (KCTV/CNN) - A man accused of killing a doctor at a medical conference has been extradited from South America.

Investigators believe John Hodges murdered his girlfriend in Kansas City and then fled to Colombia.

Authorities in Kansas held a news conference Monday.

"She had been reported as possibly missing by her mother, who expected her return from Kansas City," said Chief John Douglass with the Overland Park Police Department.

It was an investigation that led both federal and local authorities all the way to Colombia, South America.

It was earlier this month 39-year-old Dr. Franchesca Brown, a pediatrician from Myrtle Beach, was attending a medical seminar at the Hawthron Suites Hotel.

Dr. Brown was last seen on September 3 at that seminar, and reported missing by her family six days later.

Investigators say they believe Dr. Brown had invited her on-again off-again boyfriend of the past year, John Merideth Hodges, to join her in Overland Park.

They say he killed her and dumped her body in a field near the hotel.

Information led them to Colombia, South America, where they say Hodges was found and detained. He's expected back in the Overland Park area within the next couple of days.

Because Hodges is considered a flight risk and because he could have slipped out of Colombia, investigators made the decision to keep news of the murder hushed.

"That was a decision the chief and I made and as far as we're concerned, apprehending an individual and preventing him from escaping justice was more important than notifying the public and we talked to the family about this and they understood our concerns, they wanted to make sure that justice was done, and so this is the position that we took," said Steve Howe, Johnson County District Attorney.

John Meredith Hodges is being charged with first-degree murder.

He also faces charges related to credit card fraud and identity theft.

Authorities have not yet revealed a motive in the crime.

KCTV/CNN