National Missing Persons Day: 10 Ohio disappearances that remain unsolved
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A woman who disappeared shortly after winning money in the lottery and a college student who vanished weeks before his car was discovered in the Arizona desert are among the hundreds of missing people from Ohio.
Monday marks National Missing Persons Day, which is dedicated to raising awareness for those who have disappeared. While a majority of missing persons cases are solved within a few days, others remain cold for years. Currently, over 1,000 Ohioans are missing. Here are some of their stories.
Lori Boffman
On Aug. 5, 2006, Boffman, a 45-year-old woman who had won $1,000 in the Ohio Lottery the previous day, vanished. She was last seen driving away from her residence on Holly Drive in Girard at 6:30 p.m. accompanied by a friend. She left her purse, diabetes medication and personal identification at home, according to The Charley Project, a nonprofit missing persons database.
During the ride, Boffman was driving so erratically that the friend who was with her asked to be let out of the car, so she dropped him off and continued driving alone. At 5:30 a.m. the next day, her blue 1992 Mercury Sable was found on the lawn in front of a library near Shehy Street in Youngstown. Police determined the car had been involved in a minor traffic collision. The keys were in the ignition, the engine was running and the door was open. Her eyeglasses were found in the car and she has never been heard from again, the nonprofit stated.
At the time she went missing, Boffman had recently started a new diabetes medication and was still adjusting to it which may be related to her disappearance, according to The Charley Project. Today, she would be 63 years old. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance may contact the Liberty Township Police Department at 330-759-1511.
Janis Pringle
On Aug. 14, 2003, Pringle, 32, was last seen at her Dayton apartment around 3 a.m. In the months after her disappearance, Pringle did not pick up her social security checks, according to The Charley Project.
In October 2003, Pringle’s sister, Michelle Napier, 29, also disappeared from her own Dayton apartment. Her body was found wrapped in a tarp near a wooded area in Harrison Township in May 2004.
Napier’s homicide remains unsolved and law enforcement has never publicly specified if they believe the two incidents are related. Police have not released further information regarding their cases.
Today, Pringle would be 53 years old. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance may contact the Dayton Police Department at 937-333-1070.
Bianca Damanik
On Jan. 12, 2005, Bianca Damanik, 2, disappeared from Beachwood. She was allegedly abducted by her mother, Elfarida Damanik, 29, two weeks after her father was given custody of her.
Bianca’s father has claimed he's heard from Elfarida since she abducted the child. She allegedly called and emailed him to request money, but refused to let him contact Bianca or tell him her exact whereabouts, according to The Charley Project.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office states the pair is believed to have left the country and traveled to Indonesia, where Elfarida was born. Today, Bianca would be 22 years old. Anyone with information may contact the Macedonia Police Department at 330-468-1234.
Ashley Norah
Norah disappeared at 17 years old after she was last seen in Columbus on June 1, 2002, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office. She has never been heard from again, and police have released very few details in her case.
At the time of her disappearance, her ears were pierced and she had braces on her teeth. Norah also had a birthmark on the back of one of her legs. Today, she would be 40 years old. Anyone with information about Norah’s whereabouts may contact Columbus police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 614-461-8477.
Trinia Williams
Williams was last seen in Columbus on Sept. 16, 1992, when she was 18 years old. Williams had a 4-month-old daughter at the time, whose father was incarcerated and had never met her, according to The Charley Project.
A former inmate who knew William’s baby’s father contacted her and offered to take her baby to visit her father in jail. On the day she was last seen, the man picked up Williams and her child from a Columbus residence. The next day, he returned and gave the baby to a family member, but Williams was nowhere to be found. He claimed she had gone to use a pay phone and never came back, according to The Charley Project. The man she was with the day she went missing is now dead. Friends and family have never heard from her again.
Today, Williams would be 50 years old. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance may contact Columbus police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 614-461-8477.
Scott Hilbert
Hilbert was last seen in Cincinnati on March 13, 1988. The 19-year-old was on spring break from Morehead State University in Kentucky and left a note on the refrigerator for his parents, saying he was going to visit his friends for a few days at Ohio State University in Columbus.
Hilbert never arrived. His family reported him missing on March 21, when he did not return home in time to start his college classes again at the end of spring break, according to The Charley Project.
On April 1, the family car he was driving, a black 1984 Ford Tempo, was found in the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness in Arizona near the Utah border – about 1,700 miles from his home. An unknown individual had attempted to push the car off a cliff, but the car got caught on a tree, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Some of Scott's belongings, including a suitcase he packed for Columbus, were found scattered in the vicinity of the vehicle.
Today, Hilbert would be 55 years old. Anyone with information regarding his disappearance may contact the Union Township Police Department at 513-752-1230.
Carla Losey
During the evening of New Year’s Eve 2002, Losey, 20, was last seen leaving her place of work at the now-closed El Grotto bar in Columbus. She was accompanied by an unidentified male when she left the building. Police have not publicized further information surrounding her disappearance.
At the time she went missing, she was wearing all black including a black leather jacket. Her identifying characteristics include a mole above the right side of her lip and below her right eye. Today, she would be 42 years old. Anyone with information about her disappearance may contact Columbus police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 614-461-8477.
Josie Meadows
Meadows was last seen in Huntsville on March 2, 2017, when she was 18 years old. Law enforcement has made very little information public regarding what led up to her disappearance but said she may be in need of medication for an unspecified reason.
Today, Meadows would be 26 years old. Anyone with information about her disappearance may contact the Logan County Sheriff’s Office at 937-599-3333 or leave an anonymous tip through the county’s website.
Melissa and Jasmine Collins
On Aug. 8, 1991, Melissa Collins, 17, and her 8-month-old daughter, Jasmine, left their Akron apartment to go to the grocery store, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Melissa did not take any of Jasmine's baby items with her when they left, and had prepared her bottles for when they got back.
An individual who claimed he last saw the pair is a suspect in the case, according to The Charley Project. The Akron man, who had a criminal history including violent and drug offenses, was allegedly staying with a woman who sublet her apartment to Melissa at the time.
In February 1992, six months after the mother and daughter disappeared, the suspect died by suicide at 37 years old. The pair has never been found.
Today, Melissa would be 51 years old and Jasmin would be 34. Anyone with information on their disappearance may contact the Akron Police Department at 330-375-2530.