Search for Pitzer ends for a second night


Casey Pitzer
Set to resume Tuesday morning

3/18/2013 9:16:00 PM

By LORA ABERNATHY

WILMINGTON - The search for a missing Sabina woman ended for the second night late Monday, and authorities plan to resume the search Tuesday morning.

According to Josh Riley, chief detective with the Wilmington Police Department, Casey Pitzer, 32, of Sabina, was reported missing around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. She has made no contact with any friends or family since then, he said.

Riley said that Pitzer was at Uncle Louie's Lounge Saturday, March 16. She allegedly did not want to leave or get into a friend's car who was there to pick her up and take her home. She started walking eastbound toward Sabina on U.S. Route 22, he said.

She was reportedly picked up by a male acquaintance and another man who Riley described as a "Good Samaritan," while the acquaintance was driving the other man to his truck.

"They happened to see her on the way to his house," Riley said.

"He talked to her and said, 'You know who I am,' and she then got in the car," Riley said. Pitzer allegedly told the two men soon after that she wanted out of the car. She reportedly opened the car door, they slowed down to let her out of the vehicle, and she ran across four lanes of traffic on State Route 73.

Riley said that a witness, who has since come forward, was in another vehicle at that time and said he almost ran over Pitzer. Riley said the witness saw her running across state Route 73 towards a retention pond near Walmart.

On Sunday, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources K-9 unit, Buckeye Search and Rescue dogs, a dive team from Loveland, and an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter aided the WPD in its search.

A pair of boots that were believed to be Pitzer's were found in the pond, authorities said.

The search effort was called off late Sunday because of what Riley called "uncooperative weather."

The search resumed Monday at approximately 10:30 a.m. with dozens of friends, family and volunteers gathering at the miniature golf site on U.S. 22 east as they prepared to canvass the area by foot and by ATV.

Kim Spurlock, who was heading up the volunteer search effort, said that Pitzer is her sister-in-law's sister, and she has known her since she was 12 years old. "I'm trying to keep myself composed ... but I'm very nervous and very upset," Spurlock said.

Monday afternoon, officials with the ODNR Watercraft Division searched the pond using sonar and the assistance of an ODNR K-9 unit to help narrow the search for a dive team that could come in next.

"They had some promising areas they thought would be good for a search," Riley said.

He said they began doing a "dragging pattern" in the pond, but that effort did not yield anything as of Monday evening. He expects they will continue dragging the pond and possibly bring in another dive team on Tuesday.

He is not ruling out the possibility of draining the pond if those efforts do not work.

"If we have to take the water out, then to be able to look the family in the eye and say we did absolutely everything we could do with this body of water, then let's empty it," Riley said.

Kelly Pitzer Taylor, Casey's sister, said, "We just want her home, just for closure. Even if she's not alive, we still want her here."

Riley said that if Pitzer is not found in the pond, the department will continue its investigation through interviews and reviewing video surveillance from area businesses.

Gary Huffenberger, a staff writer with the Wilmington News Journal, contributed to this report.

 

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