Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Dwayne Baxter, 55, of Springfield, OH, has been missing since Monday May 20th.

5/21/19
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WRGT/WKEF) - Springfield police are asking for the public's help to find a local man who has been reported missing since Monday.

Dwayne Baxter, 55, of Springfield has been missing since Monday May 20th. Police say he was in contact with his family last month but since then has not talked with them or active on social media.

Baxter is an African American male that stands at 6 ft 2 inches, and weighs 230lbs. According to police, Baxter is homeless and has medical issues.

If you have seen Baxter or know of any information about his whereabouts contact Springfield police at (937) 324-7685.

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Springfield police searching for missing man

fox45now.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WRGT/WKEF) - Springfield police are asking for the public's help to find a local man who has been reported missing since Monday. Dwayne Baxter, 55, of Springfield has been miss...

12 hours ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Cory Althar, 38, and Jimmy Wells, 19, Geneva State Park, Lake Erie, Geneva, OH. 5/18/19.

5/20/19
GENEVA — Wind and waves kept rescue workers from searching Monday for two missing fishermen on Lake Erie.

The search began at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when the boaters, 38-year-old Cory Althar and 19-year-old Jimmy Wells, did not return to Geneva State Park before dark, according to Coast Guard reports.

An overturned boat was spotted by helicopter about 2 a.m. Sunday about three miles off-shore from Wheeler Creak in Geneva Township, said Geneva Fire Chief Dale Arkenburg.

Life jackets and other items were spotted in the search area about 6:45 a.m. Sunday, according to reports.

The search was called off at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday because of windy weather conditions, Arkenburg said.

The Geneva Fire Department will resume its search when weather permits, he said.

There was a small craft advisory on Lake Erie on Monday.

The Coast Guard, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ashtabula County Water Rescue Team and the Geneva Fire Department searched by boat and air two to five miles off shore, Arkenburg said.

www.starbeacon.com/news/local_news/search-for-missing-boaters-called-off-monday-due-to-wind/artic... ... See MoreSee Less

Search for missing boaters called off Monday due to wind, waves

starbeacon.com

GENEVA — Wind and waves kept rescue workers from searching Monday for two missing fishermen on Lake Erie.

2 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Whitney Crank, 31, of Erlanger, KY, missing in the Ohio River, along the Cincinnati, OH riverfront. 5/28/19.

5/20/19
CINCINNATI —
A boater who disappeared Saturday on the Ohio River has been identified as a 31-year-old Northern Kentucky woman, officials said Monday.

Whitney Crank, 31, of Erlanger, has been missing since Saturday afternoon. Authorities said she fell into the water from a boat along Cincinnati's riverfront.

Rescue crews said they believe Crank fell into the river near the Schmidt Boat Ramp, just a few miles upriver from downtown Cincinnati. She was not wearing a life jacket.

At least one other person was on board the 22-foot boat at the time.

Michael Bilokonsky, 32, of Fort Thomas, dove into the river in an attempt to rescue Crank but was unsuccessful, according to reports. Someone in a nearby boat pulled him from the water, officials said.

That boater called 911, and a massive rescue effort was launched.

Rescue crews from multiple agencies had boats in the water throughout the weekend, scouring the river and shoreline for signs of Crank.

There has been no sign of Crank since Saturday.

www.wlwt.com/article/boater-missing-since-saturday-identified-as-31-year-old-nky-woman/27531182 ... See MoreSee Less

Boater missing since Saturday identified as 31-year-old NKY woman

wlwt.com

A boater who disappeared Saturday on the Ohio River has been identified as a 31-year-old Northern Kentucky woman, officials said Monday.

2 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing John Chorley, 65, was last seen March 11 in Cleveland, OH.

5/20/19
FOX 8 and Amanda Berry are working together to help reunite missing loved ones with their families.

John Chorley, 65, was last seen March 11 in Cleveland. He was wearing a winter hat, jeans, and dirty sneakers.

John is 5'6" and weighs around 120 pounds.

If you've seen him, please call the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department at 216-348-4232.
tps://fox8.com/2019/05/20/missing-john-chorley/ ... See MoreSee Less

Missing: John Chorley

fox8.com

FOX 8 and Amanda Berry are working together to help reunite missing loved ones with their families. John Chorley, 65, was last seen March 11 in Cleveland. He was wearing a winter hat, jeans, and dirty...

2 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing shared a post.

Update ... See MoreSee Less

Ohio Lostnmissing

We hope that she is well.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — UPDATE: Columbus Police have located Laura Gwynn.

myfox28columbus.com/news/local/police-searching-for-missing-woman-with-dementia-last-seen-i...

4 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing A’Lante Lemon, 16, East 84th Street near Reed Avenue, Garfield Heights, OH. 5/15/19.

5/18/19
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Police are for the public’s help in finding a missing 16-year-old with autism.

A’Lante Lemon was last seen leaving his home just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on East 84th Street near Reed Avenue, Garfield police said in a statement.

Lemon was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and white shoes. He also was carrying a black backpack.

Lemon has autism, but was described as “highly functioning," police said.

Police learned Lemon was headed to a job interview, but investigators do not know exactly know where the interview was supposed to be.

Lemon is known to hang at the Greyhound bus terminal downtown and travels by the bus, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Garfield Heights police Department at 216-475-1234.

www.cleveland.com/metro/2019/05/garfield-police-searching-for-missing-16-year-old-boy-headed-to-j... ... See MoreSee Less

Garfield Heights police searching for missing 16-year-old boy headed to job interview

cleveland.com

A'Lante Lemon was last seen Wednesday, police say

4 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing #Chillicothe, OH.

5/18/19
CHILLICOTHE – Chillicothe wasn’t without its problems when May began five years ago, but by month’s end a fear developed, stirred by reports of adult women who’d gone missing.

Law enforcement was scrutinized from the beginning. Tameka Lynch, 30, was not put into the law enforcement system as a missing person when her husband reported her missing on May 20, 2014, and police publicly said on May 22, 2014, there was “no reason to believe she’s in any danger.”

Even though true at the time based on what police knew, it didn’t matter when Tameka’s body, clothed only in a pair of socks, was found in Paint Creek near Bainbridge by kayakers two days later. The seeds of distrust had been sown.

The distrust deepened as other women were reported missing including Charlotte Trego, 27, who some said may have been with Tameka and was last heard from by her mother on May 3, 2014. While there would be other women reported missing who turned back up on their own or were located by police, a fear settled in as the months passed without word from Charlotte and no news on how Tameka ended up in Paint Creek.

Then came Wanda Lemons, 37, who was last seen on Nov. 4, 2014, and seems to have vanished with even less of a trace than Charlotte, according to police.

And a pregnant Shasta Himelrick, 20, who was reported missing in December 2014 and found drowned the next month, her death ruled a suicide.

And Tiffany Sayre, 26, reported missing in May 2015 and found dead the next month in Highland County, her death ruled a homicide.

And Timberly Claytor, 38, found shot to death in May 2015, her body left in the weeds in Massieville.

And Rebecca Cade, 31, found bludgeoned and stabbed to death, hanging by a sleeve on a fence in October 2015.

It seemed like something evil had descended on Chillicothe and women were the target. Where were the police?

Giving it their all
Chillicothe Police Chief Keith Washburn and Ross County Sheriff George Lavender recently told the Gazette during a nearly two-hour interview they’ve been doing everything they can to bring the cases to a conclusion.

“This is probably the most extensive investigation ever in this county. When we formed the (missing women) task force, the front conference room (of the law enforcement center) was full of people,” Washburn said, noting there were several area law enforcement agencies including people from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and Homeland Security. “I’ve never seen that much law enforcement presence in this city. The only thing I could think came close was the (John) Parsons escape (from the Ross County Jail in 2006).”

Local, state, and federal agencies and prosecuting attorneys have reviewed the case, he added.

“No one has said there’s a serial killer. No one’s come up with any definitive link between these cases,” Washburn said. “Everybody in this room put their heart and soul in this investigation for the last five years.”

The investigation has amassed 574 recorded tips with the last coming in May 2018, according to Col. T.J. Hollis who heads up the missing women task force formed in June 2015. Officials have repeatedly reported they have checked into every one of them but mostly have remained mum on who they looked into save for a few high profile people, including a suspected serial killer and a Chillicothe man convicted of rape and attempted rapes involving seven women.

“All of those persons we came across, that’s all still investigative … At this point, there’s nothing chargeable but we learned lots of other things,” Hollis said.

Washburn said interviews could be challenging at times since “a lot of the witnesses have issues whether it be substance use or mental health. A lot of time you could go interview someone and they’d be higher than a kite.”

Lavender noted some also had warrants and would avoid them, so they worked to find ways to gain access.

“We made a strong presence on Second Street … There were drug circles we wanted to invade. We wanted to break down those barriers and get inside those barriers to see what we could find out,” Lavender said.

Washburn said the prostitution stings they've done were primarily an attempt to gather information for the missing women cases.

Secretive investigations
The details of what has or hasn’t been done in the investigation is mostly elusive beyond large-scale search efforts. After Tameka was found, law enforcement conducted searches by land, air, and water using various tools including trained dogs, horses, kayaks, air boats, ATVs, helicopters, and the FBI’s ground-penetrating radar.

They ran the length of Paint Creek and the Scioto River looking for signs of Charlotte who was rumored to possibly have been with Tameka. They repeated the efforts in 2015 after Tiffany’s body was found not far from where Tameka was discovered.

“We repeatedly checked that area (Bainbridge) numerous times,” Lavender said.

Beyond those efforts, Lavender, Washburn, and Hollis mostly remain tight-lipped. Ohio law protects records deemed investigatory by law enforcement from being released to the public in an effort to preserve the integrity of ongoing investigations and protect the identity of persons of interest.

More: Jury convicts McCrary in Claytor murder case

More: Jury finds Donnie Cochenour Jr. not guilty of murder

Records relating to Shasta, Timberly, and Rebecca have been released since those investigations have been deemed closed. Shasta’s case was closed due to the suicide ruling – a ruling her family disputes. Timberly’s case was closed when Jason McCrary was found guilty while Rebecca Cade’s was closed after her suspected murderer was acquitted.

However, this month, Washburn released his department’s written report detailing their portion of the investigation into Tameka’s disappearance and death. Her death was ruled likely a multiple drug overdose by the Ross County Coroner but the manner — natural, accidental, homicide, or suicide — was left undetermined. Washburn declined to release reports relating to the other open cases while Lavender declined releasing any of his department’s investigative reports.

According to Washburn, he decided against releasing Tiffany’s report since her death was ruled a homicide in Highland County, and he didn’t release those for Charlotte and Wanda because they remain missing.

“I want transparency. We want to be as transparent as we possibly can,” Washburn said.

Rumors
The Chillicothe police report presumably is only a sliver of the overall efforts related to the investigation — the sheriff's office and BCI likely both have reports — but it provides a glimpse at some of the tips police were receiving.

“One of the problems you have in any investigation is you always have someone wanting to give information but it’s third and fourth hand,” Washburn said. “We’d run down the lead until it was done. There was nothing conclusive with it, no direct knowledge of the case.”

Tameka’s investigation was challenging from the beginning as they fielded vague rumors passed along by her husband Jeremi Lynch who had reported her missing on May, 20, 2014, saying he’d last seen her on May 16. According to the report, he couldn’t tell police where he heard the information or from who.

Among the rumors he reported:

• She had been talking to an unknown guy in a black truck the night of May 16.

• She had been at an unknown East Water Street home at 1 a.m. May 17.

• She had gone with an unknown woman to meet an unknown man in a black truck at Christopher Inn.

• A woman picked her up at an East Fourth Street home and dropped her off behind Donato’s and saw her leave with an “older white male” in a gold Toyota Camry with a missing gas cap.

On May 27, 2014, the investigator talked to the woman from the last tip who said Jeremi and Tameka had been at her East Fourth Street home the evening of May 16. She reported Tameka had walked from her home to meet someone at McDonald’s.

Three days later, police took a report from a woman who said she was assaulted behind Liberty Tax Service by a man who said “I’m gonna kill you like I did the other girl and they’ll never find her.” The man’s car, including a hatchet found inside, was processed for DNA and fingerprints but nothing was found connecting Tameka or Charlotte to the car. The man, who grew up in Bainbridge and pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman, died of a drug overdose in 2017.

Police followed up on another similar claim involving a man who was arrested in Columbus for domestic violence. He allegedly told police he had mentioned the missing women in the “heat of an argument … but meant nothing by it.” State prison records revealed he’d been in prison for four years and was released two months after Tameka and Charlotte disappeared.

“That happens in a lot of (unsolved) cases. A lot of people try to take credit for something they didn’t do trying to make themselves look big in front of other people,” Washburn said.

Other tips seemed to center around the same group of people in the Bainbridge area mostly from people who’d overheard other people talking about yet other people. One name noticeably absent from the Chillicothe police report was Ernest “Dollar Bill” Moore who is in prison on charges related to the detention and torture of a man. Moore was the primary person of interest highlighted in the Spike series “Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio.

For example, in June 2014 police were given the names of a couple who may have dumped Tameka’s body into Paint Creek. The caller reported overhearing the couple’s son making the claims to someone else. The tip led police back to an East Main Street home in Bainbridge they had searched before with consent from residents and they searched it a second time. Another home also was searched at this time.

They also fielded information reported overheard by inmates in the jail including one claiming Jeremi had told him “he knew what happened to his wife but that the same would happen to him if he told.” He alleged she may have been given a hot shot and he mentioned a dealer who may have supplied the drugs, but he hadn’t witnessed anything.

He also told police he’d heard Charlotte had last been picked up by a Blackrun Road man in a black extended cab pickup truck with gold trim. He claimed he’d heard Charlotte also was in Paint Creek.

He also gave police two different names he’d heard from another man in jail — one half of the couple the previous caller had mentioned. The report indicates those tips would be followed up by the sheriff’s office.

In May 2015, more information came in from someone who claimed to hear details of what happened to Tameka and Charlotte from someone who overheard someone else talking. The tipster alleged she’d heard Tameka was given a hot shot because she owed a dealer money which led to Charlotte “freaking out.” As a result, she alleged she heard Charlotte was given more heroin and was burned alive along the creek bank before being put in a bag and tossed in the creek.

Another tip claimed Charlotte or Tameka had been hit in the head with a shovel and mentioned some of the same names from earlier tips. One man took a polygraph which determined he answered truthfully in denying he knew for sure who killed Tameka, saw anyone kill her or helped get rid of her body. Polygraph exams are often inadmissible in court.

Lasting impact
No concrete answers have come out of the investigation, but Washburn said much of the information they did get lent itself toward people dumping people after an overdose because they were scared to call for help. There have been 181 overdose deaths in Ross County from 2014 through 2018 with a peak of 44 in 2016.

“I think when you look at the statistics during this time period, before we were carrying Narcan (naloxone), this was the height of the drug epidemic hitting the community. People were not going to call to say we have someone overdosed here … You can spin a story any way you want, but not all the circumstances are the same in these cases,” Washburn said.

Even so, Washburn considers the missing women cases a catalyst for change in the community. He specifically points to law enforcement’s decision to carry the overdose reversal drug naloxone and the prosecutor’s decision to have an overdose amnesty policy as coming about when they did because of the cases.

More: Overdose amnesty program hopes to curb fatal OD numbers

“Once we got the amnesty in place where people could talk to us instead of hiding from us, these things abated,” Hollis said.

“Now they’re calling first responders and they’re going to treatment … it’s saving lives,” Lavender added.

They also are putting everyone reported missing into the Ohio law enforcement database regardless if there’s no immediate indication they’re in danger.

Both departments also have become active on Facebook to communicate with the community and also to crowd source for tips in cases, especially when someone has been reported as a runaway or missing. While sometimes social media can be misleading, Lavender said it’s also been helpful.

Along with those efforts, the community response to substance abuse also has shifted with the aid of the Hope Partnership Project where officials at the local, state, and federal level meet regularly to develop ways to help get people into treatment such as the post overdose response team and the addition of case managers at the jail.

“If there was no PORT, Narcan or amnesty, the number of cases of missing women would be double,” Washburn said.

“I don’t think you’d see just women,” Hollis added.

The changes are little solace, though, for those still desperately needing and wanting answers.

“These cases being open haunt you,” Lavender said. “I’m always thinking did we do this or that.”

Anyone with information on any of the cases – including the ones considered closed – can call 740-773-FIND or email findme@rosssheriff.com. Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect. They can be reached at 740-773-TIPS (8477) or at SouthernOhioCrimeStoppers.com.

Not alone
Since Charlotte Trego was last heard from on May 3, 2014, there have been 3,458 people across the United States who have gone missing and haven't been located, according to NamUs, a national database of missing persons and unidentified remains. Of those, 1,277 are women and include both Charlotte Trego and Wanda Lemons.

NamUs, which is searchable online by the public, also has tracked 1,727 cases of remains found since May 3, 2014, which remain unidentified as of this month.

Ross County Sheriff’s Col. Hollis previously told the Gazette Charlotte and Wanda's DNA profiles are ran through the national database every 90 days.

www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2019/05/18/five-years-and-still-too-few-answers-chillicothe... ... See MoreSee Less

Five years and still too few answers in Chillicothe missing women cases

chillicothegazette.com

In 2014 and 2015, there were seven cases of Chillicothe women who vanished or were found dead. Five years later, we're still waiting for answers.

4 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

We hope that she is well.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — UPDATE: Columbus Police have located Laura Gwynn.

myfox28columbus.com/news/local/police-searching-for-missing-woman-with-dementia-last-seen-in-nort...

Missing Laura Gwynn, 73, Columbus, OH. 5/17/19.

5/17/19
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Division of Police is searching for 73-year-old Laura Gwynn. Police say she has Dementia and is also deaf.

Ms. Gwynn was last seen wearing a white top and dark pants around 1:30 pm on Friday in the area of 11th Avenue and Rarig Avenue.

Police say she was seen driving a silver Dodge Caliber with an Ohio license plate: 187YGS.

Ms. Gwynn is described as a black female with grey hair and brown eyes. She is 5'3" and weighs 130 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545, Report #190393809.

myfox28columbus.com/news/local/police-searching-for-missing-woman-with-dementia-last-seen-in-nort... ... See MoreSee Less

Police searching for missing woman with Dementia, last seen in northeast Columbus

myfox28columbus.com

The Columbus Division of Police is searching for 73-year-old Laura Gwynn. Police say she has Dementia and is also deaf. Ms. Gwynn was last seen wearing a white top and dark pants around 1:30 pm on Fri...

4 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Ronald Fuller, 70, Saranac Drive and Lake Club Drive, Columbus, OH. 5/17/19.

5/17/19
COLUMBUS (WCMH) -- Police in Columbus are asking people to be on the lookout for a 70-year-old man last seen Friday.

According to Columbus police, Ronald Fuller was last seen around 6 p.m. Friday walking in the park in the area of Saranac Drive and Lake Club Drive.

Police say Fuller suffers from dementia.

He is described as a black male standing 5'8" and weighing 190 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and blue jeans.

www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus-police-searching-for-missing-70-year-old-man/2010126279 ... See MoreSee Less

Columbus police searching for missing 70-year-old man

nbc4i.com

Police in Columbus are asking people to be on the lookout for a 70-year-old man last seen Friday.

4 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Patrick Kelley Jr, 67, Richland Township, Ohio.
5/14/19.

5/16/19
Officials are looking for Patrick Kelley Jr, 67, of Ohio.

Kelley lives at Four Oaks, an adult group home in Richland Township on 40 near East Richland Church and was last seen wearing gray sweat pants, jean jacket, and a Ford baseball hat.

Officials reported him missing at 7:50 pm yesterday and was last seen on Route 40

Friends say he is very systematic in his habits. Always takes a daily walk east on 40.

Officials are studying surveillance video of nearby businesses to locate Kelley.

Anyone seeing him is urged to call either 911 or Sheriff at 740 695-7933.

www.wtrf.com/news/officials-looking-for-missing-man/2003695471 ... See MoreSee Less

Officials looking for missing man

wtrf.com

Officials are looking for Patrick Kelley Jr, 67, of Ohio. 

6 days ago

Ohio Lostnmissing

#Missing Roe Edwards, 73, was seen walking towards Reading Road in Avondale, OH. 5/16/19.

5/16/19
CINCINNATI, Ohio (FOX19) - Police are looking for a critically missing man who was last seen Wednesday afternoon.

Police said Roe Edwards, 73, was seen walking towards Reading Road in Avondale around 2 p.m.

He suffers from dementia and Alzheimers, they say.

Edwards is described as 5′8″, 176 pounds and was wearing gray sweat pants, gray long john style shirt, gray Pumas and a blue flannel jacket.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Police Dispatch at 513-765-1212.

www.fox19.com/2019/05/16/police-looking-critically-missing-man-with-dementia-alzheimers/ ... See MoreSee Less

Police looking for critically missing man with dementia, Alzheimers

fox19.com

Police are looking for a critically missing man who was last seen Wednesday afternoon.

6 days ago