Missing in Ohio

[beth]

II read an article about this early Saturday, but thought it would soon be resolved. Since it has become an on-going investigation, I'll post it for comment.




Investigators are continuing to question people and evaluate evidence in the search for Tina Herrmann, Stephanie Sprang, Amanda Strouse, Sarah Maynard and Kody Maynard.

_____________________________________________________________________

Ohio Sheriff: Blood Discovery May Be Key Factor in Missing Family Case


HOWARD, Ohio -- An unusual amount of blood found in a missing woman's home is evidence of an injury apparently related to her disappearance with her two children and a female friend, a sheriff in Ohio said Saturday.

Knox County Sheriff David Barber did not say who investigators believe was injured inside the home of 32-year-old Tina Herrmann in Howard, about 60 miles north of Columbus, and he would not elaborate.

"The one thing I can say about it is that it's an unusual amount," Barber said of the blood. "It isn't from someone stubbing their toe or cutting their finger, you know, or peeling an apple or something like that."

Herrmann was reported missing Wednesday, along with her 13-year-old daughter, Sarah Maynard, 10-year-old son, Kody Maynard, and 41-year-old friend, Stephanie Sprang.

Investigators were searching by air and land and in a private lake about a half-mile from the home. Friends and neighbors began their own search at about 7 a.m., leaving from nearby Kenyon College, not far from where Herrmann's pickup truck was found Thursday night.

"We're asking people to keep a guarded but optimistic attitude about how this case is going to unfold," he said.

The sheriff on Friday said there was no indication that the women and children had been abducted. The friend's vehicle was found parked at the home.

Around the rural subdivision of Apple Valley, neighbors were increasingly concerned.

Josh and Alicia Lawson helped search nearby woods and valleys Saturday afternoon for any signs of the two women and two children.

"Everybody knows somebody that knows them, being a small town," Alicia Lawson said. "I just hope they show up and it's all been a huge misunderstanding, but it's starting to feel like that isn't going to happen."

Gene Lybarger, whose children played sports with the missing boy and girl, said his 11-year-old daughter is taking it hard.

"She spent the night with a friend and, when I was dropping her off, she came up and hugged me. She was crying," he said. "I told her, 'Let's just wait and see."'

The state Highway Patrol, FBI and Center for Missing and Exploited Children were helping in the investigation, and Barber said the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was continuing to collect evidence at the home.

Barring a major break in the case, Barber said he did not anticipate any further updates until 2 p.m. Sunday.

Amanda Strouse, 23, a resident of Mt. Vernon about 5 miles away, said she and companions took 10 dozen doughnuts to the site of the early morning search attempt at a Kenyon College nature area where Herrmann's truck was found.

"Four people missing. That's kind of scary. And it could have been someone in our family," she said.

Barber said Sprang's three children -- 20, 17 and 9 -- have been questioned, and her family and friends are wondering why and how she disappeared.

The discovery of the truck near the Kenyon campus, about 7 miles from Howard, prompted the school to impose a lockdown for nearly nine hours, from Thursday night into Friday morning. Students were notified by e-mail, text message and telephone.

The e-mail to students said authorities warned college officials of "a potentially dangerous person in the vicinity." Shawn Presley, a Kenyon spokesman, said students were told to remain in their residence halls as a precaution; those outside or in other buildings were either personally escorted or driven back to their residence halls by campus safety officers.

Signs were still posted around the campus Saturday, where there was a visiting day for prospective students. The handbills alerted students to continue to be cautious and said that their buildings would be locked after 6 p.m.

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/13/friends-searching-women-kids-missing-ohio/?test=latestnews

[sadie]

Well....you just know that isn't going to end up well.........

[beth]

Agreed. When there's blood, it's usually very not-good. Small town, small college campus ... I'm surprised they don't already know more.

[sadie]

This is from an article on CNN

"Herrmann failed to report to work at a Dairy Queen in Mount Vernon, in central Ohio, on Wednesday. A deputy came twice to the house and saw Herrmann's pickup truck. Lights were on in the house, but no one answered the door, Barber said.
"There were no signs of anything out of place," he said.
A Dairy Queen manager entered the home on Thursday and discovered the blood.
"There is blood in the house. There is a sign of injury to a person or persons," Barber said Friday.
Herrmann's truck was discovered Thursday night near Kenyon College in Gambier, he said. On Friday morning, the college lifted a lockdown it had put in place late Thursday "as a precaution because of concerns that a person of interest in the disappearances might have been on campus."
The children were in school Wednesday, but not Thursday, the sheriff said. Sprang's vehicle was found at Herrmann's house, he added."

Ok.....so she didn't go to work on Wednesday.....so whatever happened started then.....the kids came back and walked into it........and somewhere the friend did too??

[sadie]

Hey.....I just saw on the news that they found the 13 yr old girl alive!! Something about being found in a basement tied and gagged.....but ALIVE!!! Hoping she has info on the rest of the family......

[sadie]

"A 13-year-old girl missing for days was found bound and gagged but alive in a basement Sunday, and authorities hoped a man charged with kidnapping her might lead them to her mother, brother and another woman who disappeared with her.

Matthew J. Hoffman, 30, was arrested at his Mount Vernon home, where Sarah Maynard was found, Knox County Sheriff David Barber said. He said the girl was hospitalized in good condition but would give no details and did not say if she had been sexually abused.

Barber did not say what led investigators to Hoffman's home, which is about 10 miles from the home of Sarah's family, but he said Hoffman's mother and stepfather own a house within walking distance of Sarah's, and that Hoffman listed it as a second address.

Barber said authorities hoped Hoffman would give them information leading to Sarah's mother, Tina Herrmann, her 10-year-old brother, Kody, and Herrmann's 41-year-old friend Stephanie Sprang."

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/14/ohio-town-waits-answers-ohio-missing-family-case/

[beth]

Geeez ... another sick, sorry SOB. Now right there is a good example of the kind of person who could be hit with a little light torture and I wouldn't say a word. IF he knows where the others are ... especially if time is vital in them being found safe ..

just sayin'

[sadie]

Saw a Mel Gibson movie where they broke a toe at a time with a hammer........think they should start that way......heck....and with some of the issues Mel has been having lately......I'd even let him do it.....maybe he'd get them all worked out and get back to normal.

[beth]

Saw this today -

Missing Ohio family: Sheriff admits 3 still missing may be dead


MOUNT VERNON -- It's possible that three people still missing in central Ohio were killed, a sheriff conceded Monday, a day after the 13-year-old girl who disappeared along with them was rescued from the home of a man later charged with kidnapping.


Authorities want to remain optimistic that 32-year-old Tina Herrmann, her 10-year-old son, Kody, and Herrmann's friend, 41-year-old Stephanie Sprang, are alive, Knox County Sheriff David Barber said at a news conference.

Investigators searched a lake for signs of the three near a house where 13-year-old Sarah Maynard was found in the basement and where Matthew J. Hoffman, 30, was arrested.

Late Monday, searchers pulled a car from the lake but have not commented on if the car contains the bodies of the missing trio.

Maynard has been released from a hospital and is staying with relatives, the sheriff said.

"She is a very brave little girl," Barber said. "Under the circumstances, a 13-year-old girl being held captive for four days by a total stranger ... I would call her the epitome of bravery."
Unlike previous days, the sheriff declined to describe the investigation as a missing-persons case, referring to it as "an investigation into the recovery of three people."

The shift in tone was owing to the amount of blood found at the home, the fact that only Maynard was found with the suspect, and because apparently no one has seen her mother, brother or the other woman.

"We still would like to retain a hopeful attitude, but we have to be realistic," Barber said.

The sheriff revealed that authorities first questioned Hoffman on Thursday, the day after Herrmann didn't show up for work at a local Dairy Queen and was reported missing.

Police found him "just sitting there" in his car near a public bike trail opposite property owned by Kenyon College, near where Herrmann's pickup truck was found the same day, Barber said. It wasn't clear whether the pickup truck had been found first.

Authorities arrested him Sunday at his two-story tan-sided house about 40 miles north of Columbus. Barber would not reveal what led investigators to the home and said there is no indication others were involved. It was unclear whether Hoffman knew the two women.

"They knew Hoffman or Hoffman made himself known to them; he acquainted himself with the family whether they knew he was acquainting himself with them or not," he said.

A few blocks away from Hoffman's home, a public park with a lake was closed Monday, initially by Mount Vernon police because an officer patrolling overnight had found what he thought was bloody clothing potentially related to the investigation, police Capt. George Hartz said. But tests did not find any human blood on the clothing, he said.

The city reopened the park at midmorning, only to have it closed again a half-hour later by county and state authorities so they could search the lake with a boat equipped with sonar, Hartz said. He did not have other details on the lake search.

Neighbors had said Hoffman frequented the park, which was once a gravel quarry and now has three lakes where people fish. It was difficult Monday to see any police activity through the thick trees bordering the park.

Hoffman was being held in the county jail and did not have an attorney, the sheriff said. A bond hearing was tentatively scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Mount Vernon Municipal Court clerk's office said.

Herrmann, her children and Sprang disappeared Wednesday from Herrmann's home in nearby Howard. Barber has said blood indicating an injury had been found in Herrmann's home, where Sprang's vehicle was in the driveway.

Authorities believe Maynard, the teenage girl, had been "under the control" of Hoffman since Wednesday, when she and her brother last attended school, the sheriff said.

www.wkyc.com/news/world/news_article.aspx?storyid=158637&catid=22

[sadie]

BODIES FOUND

"Police confirm the three bodies found in Ohio belong to the family missing in Knox County since Nov. 10.

The bodies found are those of 32-year-old Tina Hermann, her 10-year-old son, Kody Maynard and family friend, 41-year-old Stephanie Sprang, Knox County Sheriff David Barber confirmed in a press conference Thursday.

The bodies were located in a wooded area inside garbage bags in a hollow tree in Knox County."

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/18/bodies-ohio-believed-missing-family/

[beth]

Terribly sad, but no surprise.



Ohio Town Grieves After 3 Missing Are Found


MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- After more than a week of searching and hoping, members of a tiny central Ohio town are now grieving after the bodies of a missing mother, her 11-year-old son and a family friend were found stuffed into garbage bags and hidden in a hollow tree.

The discovery came Thursday, four days after authorities found the mother's 13-year-old daughter bound and gagged, but alive, in the basement of a home about a 15-mile drive from the wildlife area where the bodies were discovered.

Hours later, a vigil that had been planned near the family's home to support search teams became, instead, a memorial.

Knox County Sheriff David Barber said investigators were led to the bodies by an unemployed tree-trimmer accused of kidnapping the girl and keeping her for nearly four days in the basement of his home in Mount Vernon, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus.

"We were optimistic a few days ago that maybe there was a remote chance that these folks were possibly still alive," the sheriff said. "This is a homicide investigation now."

The girl, Sarah Maynard, her mother Tina Herrmann, her 11-year-old brother Kody Maynard, and family friend Stephanie Sprang were reported missing after Herrmann failed to show up for work at a local fast food restaurant on Nov. 10.

Barber said the three dead were killed in Herrmann's home in Howard, though he did not say how, and that the tree-trimmer, Matthew Hoffman, gave investigators information through his attorneys that led them to the bodies, which were removed after part of the tree was cut away.

"This is probably the saddest day in Knox County history that I can remember," Prosecutor John Thatcher said. "As elated as we were Sunday morning when Sarah was rescued, I think the tragedy today is just devastating."

Barber declined to speculate on a motive, and it was unclear how well Hoffman knew the four. The sheriff has suggested that he had been watching them.

At the Herrmann home Thursday, three purple, star-shaped helium balloons had been left in the yard and two bouquets of flowers were resting against a tree.

Hoffman, 30, has appeared in court but has not entered a plea. Knox County Public Defender Bruce Malek, who is representing Hoffman, said Thursday that he could not comment.

A day after the four went missing, a deputy found what authorities called an unusual amount of blood inside Herrmann's home, and her pickup truck was found near the campus of Kenyon College. Hoffman, whose home is about 10 miles from Herrmann's, was questioned that same day -- Barber said police found him sitting in his car near a bike trail not far from where the pickup was found.

Investigators would not discuss details of the surviving girl's ordeal but have said she is with her father and doing well, considering the circumstances.

"We're inspired by Sarah's bravery," Barber said. He said she was home at the time of the killings but added, "What she saw, I can't speak to that."

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/19/ohio-town-grieves-missing/?test=latestnews

[beth]

Oh this is so very terrible. Hard to imagine. Did he just go *off* or was he after the girl in the first place?

Bodies of Missing Ohio Family Not Intact When Found, Friend Says


MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- The bodies of two Ohio women and an 11-year-old boy were not intact when they were found in the base of a hollow tree, a family friend said Saturday.

Joe Pejsa, 45, said investigators told him the bodies were found inside the tree along with the remains of the family dog. Authorities have not released a cause of death; preliminary autopsy findings were expected to be released Saturday afternoon.

The bodies of Tina Herrmann, her son Kody Maynard and her friend Stephanie Sprang were found in a wildlife preserve in central Ohio on Thursday, a week after they disappeared from Herrmann's blood-spattered home.

Pejsa, the uncle of Herrmann's former live-in boyfriend, said the family believed someone was watching them before they were killed. He described a man in camouflage sitting on a stump across the street several months before the slayings.

Matthew Hoffman, an unemployed tree-trimmer, is accused of kidnapping the girl and keeping her for nearly four days in the basement of his home in Mount Vernon, about 10 miles west of Howard.

Hoffman gave information that led investigators to the bodies of the others, Knox County Sheriff David Barber said, and he is the only suspect in the killings. His attorney has declined to comment.

Baker has said all three were killed in Herrmann's home in Howard, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, though he did not say how.

It's not clear how someone managed to put the bodies inside the tree, which has since been cut down. Gary Ludwig, a supervisor with Ohio's Division of Wildlife, described it as an American beech, about 60 feet tall. Beech tree trunks are typically hollowed out, he said.

Authorities have not said why the four were targeted. The sheriff has suggested that Hoffman, who spent six years in a Colorado prison on arson and other charges, had been watching them for some time.

In Mount Vernon, where just about everyone has some small connection to the killings, the grieving process has begun.

Sprang's son Michael Kupiec told WBNS-TV that he has no hatred and is eagerly waiting for investigators to tell his family about what happened to his mother.

"Until we find out more, on if they knew him -- if he knew them, we don't really know anything," Kupiec said.

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/20/bodies-missing-ohio-family-intact-friend-says/?test=latestnews

[sadie]

There is a story that the family was dismembered. What I don't understand is that it quotes the uncle of a former boyfriend.....and that they are cleaning and removing stuff from the house so that his nephew doesn't have to come back there.......if he is a "former" boyfriend.....WTH is his stuff still doing there???

www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/20/bodies-missing-ohio-family-intact-friend-says/?test=latestnews

Could they be saying former because she is deceased?

[aubrey]

His stuff's there because he hasn't picked it up yet?


Torture wouldn't have worked in this case, either.

[annaj26]

This had a bad end. The mother, her friend and the son were killed, dismembered and put in trash bags. That man who was holding the girl gave LE information that led to the discovery. It sure sounds like he was the killer.