IDENTIFY TURTLE

Question
I HAVE WHAT LOOKS TO BE A BOX TURTLE, BUT, THE SHELL DOESN'T HAVE A HINGE ON THE BACK YET IT HAS A PARTIAL HINGE ON THE FRONT THAT DOESN'T CLOSE ALL THE WAY. THE REST OF HER TRAITS ARE SIMILAR TO THE THREE TOED BOXED. SMALL YELLOW DOTS ON SHELL, BUT, NO MARKINGS ON HEAD OR LEGS. SHELL BROWN, BOTTOM STRAW COLORED, DOMED SHELL, HEAD SOLID BROWN. CAN YOU HELP AND IDENTIFY HER FOR ME.

Answer
Hi Isaac,

I can't tell you for sure what the turtle is without a clear picture of it, but box turtles don't have a hinge at the rear of the plastron (bottom shell).  The hinge is in the front, and should close all the way, or nearly so.  The domed shell does sound like a box turtle, though.  There are two species of box turtle found in MO, the 3-toed and the ornate.  I'm attaching a link to the WCT's box turtle gallery.  You can click on any of the thumbnails to make the picture bigger, and that may help you ID the turtle.  

http://chelonia.org/terrapenegallery.htm