Missing pregnant woman search ends tragically

[catlover79]

Here's a very disturbing and sad story in my neck of the woods. Something very similar happened in a neighboring county back in 2000.

STARK COUNTY - A single mother, nine months pregnant with her second child has vanished.
Jessie Marie Davis has not been seen or heard from since late Wednesday night. Investigators believe foul play is involved in the 26-year-old's disappearance.

Friday morning, Davis's mother, Patty Porter went to her daughter's duplex, just outside of North Canton, after Jessie didn't answer repeated calls to her cell phone.

Porter found Jessie's two-year-old son, Blake, in soiled diapers. Authorities think the toddler may have been home alone for more than a day.

"It feels like you've fallen in hell and you're trying to crawl back out," Porter said Saturday.
"You can not believe that anything would happen to such a beautiful girl."

There were no signs of forced entry and Davis's car was left at the home. However the contents of her purse were scattered on the kitchen floor. And Davis's cell phone and bedroom comforter were missing. Porter said she screamed when she saw her daughter's bedroom.

"Her comforter was off. Her mattress was pushed over," Porter said. "Her nightstand was knocked over. The lamp was knocked over. And somebody poured bleach all over her carpet."

"At this point, personally, I don't feel she just left," said Captain, Gary Shankle of the Stark County Sheriff's Office. "I think there is an element of foul play involved in this case."

Saturday morning, investigators with the Stark County Sheriff's Office used a search dog to try and track Davis's movements outside of her duplex. They scoured the neighborhood, but didn't find anything.

"We have not had any clues as to where she might be, or who may be responsible for what happened to her," Shankle said.

The father of Davis's two-year-old son and her unborn baby girl is a Canton police officer, who is also married.

The father was present at Davis's duplex Friday morning when his son was found. Captain Shankle said the father and his estranged wife were questioned and have been cooperative.

26-year-old Jessie Davis is nine months pregnant. She's described as:
5'2"
170 pounds
Light brown hair with blonde highlights
Hazel eyes


Anyone with information is asked to call Stark County Sheriff's Deputies at 330-430-3684.


I hope this story will have a happy ending, but the odds of that are getting slimmer and slimmer...

[Ireneparalegal]

I've been following the news.

I seen a live news report where you could hear the two year old boy in the background say at least two times, "Mommy's in the rug." God, I want to cry. I can't understand what drives people to harm others. I guess if anything good comes out of this, is that the little boy was spared. God was with him and he has family.

I only sense that either the father of the kids is responsible or some crazy ass lady who wanted a baby did this to her.

[catlover79]

I'd just heard this story and it immediately reminded me of the Theresa Andrews tragedy, which occured in September 2000. That occured in Portage County, which is the next county over from Stark in Ohio.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...998214,00.html

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by catlover79

I'd just heard this story and it immediately reminded me of the Theresa Andrews tragedy, which occured in September 2000. That occured in Portage County, which is the next county over from Stark in Ohio.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...998214,00.html

OMG that is horrible. I mean, any murder is horrible, but this woman buried that poor lady in her OWN DRIVEWAY????? How could she live with herself and walk across that driveway knowing what lies beneath??? OMG, that is horrific. Imagine if she got away with it? That child would have walked on that driveway over its own mother's grave?

[Janice]

That's a terrible story, and I don't feel a happy ending is coming. I hope her boyfriend has a good alibi. He's married to someone else? Did I read that right?

[dawsongirl]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I've been following the news.

I seen a live news report where you could hear the two year old boy in the background say at least two times, "Mommy's in the rug." God, I want to cry. I can't understand what drives people to harm others. I guess if anything good comes out of this, is that the little boy was spared. God was with him and he has family.

I only sense that either the father of the kids is responsible or some crazy ass lady who wanted a baby did this to her.

Eeee....that's eerie. Mommy's in the rug.


That reminds me of that lady in Northern Missouri who was killed by some crazy bitch who came to look at a puppy, killed the lady, stole her baby and claimed it as her own. Between that and husbands killing their pregnant wives, it's not safe to be pregnant anymore.

[James"Thunder"Early]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/.../missing_woman

Baby found near where woman disappeared

By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press 16 minutes ago

CANTON, Ohio - A newborn girl with her umbilical cord still attached was found in a basket on a doorstep 45 miles from where a pregnant woman vanished, authorities said Tuesday. A DNA sample was taken from the infant Tuesday and was given to authorities investigating the disappearance.

Thomas Maurer, sheriff in neighboring Wayne County, said a doctor determined that the baby was less than 24 hours old, and that officials are using "every caution we can" to eliminate the possibility that the baby is related to the missing woman, Jessie Davis.
Davis, 26, who is due July 3 with a baby she planned to name Chloe, has not been heard from since Wednesday evening when she spoke to her mother by phone.
A couple arriving home from dinner Monday night discovered the newborn on the porch of their rural home south of Wooster, Maurer said. The baby was dressed in a sleeper. The wicker basket contained a blanket and a bottle of formula, but there was no note, he said.
The baby was taken to Wooster Community Hospital, where DNA from the girl was taken using a mouth swab, said Maurer, who drove the sample to investigators in Stark County on Tuesday.

Davis was reported missing on Friday when her mother, Patricia Porter, went to Davis' house in nearby North Canton to check on her and found her grandson, 2-year-old Blake Davis, alone, wearing a dirty diaper in a home with furniture askew. A pool of bleach was on the bedroom floor, and the contents of Davis' purse were scatted in the kitchen. Her cell phone and a comforter were missing.
Blake told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in the rug."
The father of Davis' son and unborn girl is Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr. Authorities searched his northeast Ohio home over the weekend and again Monday night. Officials say they have no suspects in the disappearance.
A fellow officer said Tuesday that Cutts had an amicable relationship with Davis. Cutts has refused to talk about the case with reporters and is now on leave from his job.

Cutts shared the parenting duties for their 2-year-old son with Davis, said John Miller, president of the Canton patrolman's union. Cutts, also the father of Davis' unborn daughter, juggled parenthood with the demands of his patrol job on the midnight shift, Miller said.
"He's a good officer. He's got no problems at work. He treats people well," Miller said.
In 1998, he pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge and was sentenced to three years' probation after a former girlfriend accused him of breaking a door jamb and forcing his way into their home, causing her to fear for her safety, according to a police report from nearby Jackson Township.
About two years after his conviction in the disorderly conduct case, Cutts was hired by the Canton Police Department.
His personnel file also shows he won an appeal to overturn his firing in 2003 when authorities conducting a drug raid on his cousin's home found Cutts' handgun hidden under a mattress. Canton police officials accused Cutts of giving the gun to his cousin for protection and said Cutts was lying when he reported that the gun had been stolen.
A federal arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate the officer, saying Canton police had not proven the allegation.
Davis' family has declined to talk about her relationship with Cutts. Her father, Ned, held back tears Tuesday in an interview, saying he's trying to block out all emotion and focus on his daughter's safe return.
"I'm a dad that wants his daughter back," he said.
Miller accused the Stark County Sheriff's Office of waiting too long to retrieve Davis' cell phone records. The sheriff's department has not discussed whether any clues have been found in cell phone records.
____
Associated Press reporter Matt Leingang in Columbus contributed to this story.

[catlover79]

At least the baby is safe and sound now, that's one good thing about this. I don't think the rest of the story is going to be happy.

[EmoJoe]

this story is really sad. seriously...that 2-year-old's words.

has anyone noticed there's been a LOT of missing person stories lately?

[Nighthawk76]

A very sad story.

[AB]

So sad and so frightening a story. It sure doesn't sound like the out-come will be good.

[catlover79]

BREAKING DETAILS: Cadaver dogs detect something in area where missing mom search focused

NEW INFORMATION to report in the search for missing mom, Jessie Davis.

Channel 3 reporter, Paul Thomas, is on the scene where "freshly dug" ground was detected by a search crew earlier Thursday.

He says a team of cadaver dogs has also now detected something in the area.

A searcher in a party that was looking in an area near the site says she has heard from a reliable source that the area of freshly dug dirt is approximately 6' long.

That searcher, Becky Bors of Canton, also told Channel 3's Paul Thomas that her own search party found fresh footprints near a creek not far away.

The freshly dug ground is in an area off Highland Park Street, off a dirt track. Sheriff's deputies have now roped off that entire area with crime scene tape. The area is approximately four miles from Davis' North Canton home.

The searchers have been questioned by deputies and told to return to the Greentown Fire Station and check out--meaning they are done for the day.

Experts say the request for the cadaver dog is not usual, but still caution it does not mean they have found Jessie Davis.

The team that found the freshly dug ground requested the cadaver dog after a search dog detected something. Search organizers caution that search dogs are not always reliable which is why the specially trained cadaver dogs were brought in as back-up.

They also further caution that a "hit" by a cadaver dog also does not mean that something has been found either.

Searchers have been working for several hours now and have been told to radio in anything unusual. Several of those calls have been coming in throughout the day.

The Stark County Sheriff's Office has moved its mobile command center to the Greentown Fire Department which is being used as the hub for searchers.

Earlier, a high tech drone plane arrived to help in the search for Davis, who is nine months pregnant and has been missing for more than a week.

The drone plane, a remote controlled aircraft piloted from the ground flies at 400 feet and can search large areas quickly.

It has a high resolution camera mounted into the nose and the images can be magnified to search for specific colors.

The drone is just one piece of equipment brought in by EquuSearch, the national search group helping the Davis family.

EquuSearch says it has had great success using the drone aircraft. The group says the aircraft was instrumental in finding five missing people.

The plane's high resolution ability makes it very useful in grassy areas or areas with thick vegetation.

Teams are also using cadaver dogs, horses and ATV's to cover the rural terrain.

The searchers are combing through farm fields and strip mines as well as the streets around Jessie's North Canton home. The search is focused on a 20 mile radius from the house to start.

More than 1,500 hundred volunteers are working to help EquuSearch. The organization which uses specially trained mounted riders along with volunteers was formed specifically to help families of missing persons.

The searchers were divided into 15 groups of 100 and in some cases formed forming human chains as they try to locate Jessie.

The enormous outpouring of help overwhelmed search organizers early Thursday.

EquuSearch director, Tim Miller, says this may be the largest single search ever conducted by the group and says he's never seen this type of response by volunteers.

He had optimistically only expected about 200 people to show up. Because of the huge number of volunteers, the search effort began later than expected.

Miller and Davis' younger sister, Whitney, say they are both confident that the search teams will locate Jessie who is nine months pregnant.

Search teams will continue through 7 P.M. Thursday night.

Jessie is due to give birth any day now and has not been heard from since last Wednesday.

If you would like to help, organizers are asking volunteers to check in at the Greentown Fire Department. It is located at 10100 Cleveland Avenue, NW in Greentown.

[GoldenGirlsFan92]

I heard about this on "The View" today. I sure hope they find her.

[catlover79]

This will be on America's Most Wanted tomorrow night.

As for the ditch, it turned out to have nothing to do with the missing woman. It turned out to be a trench someone was using to grow marijuana.

[EmoJoe]

they just found her dead. and the boyfriend was arrested.

this is so sad. :-/ how could someone do that?