CHILLICOTHE - The mother of one of the Chillicothe missing women said a man arrested Monday for providing false tips related to her daughter's disappearance is "cold-hearted."
But Diana Willett, the mother of Wanda Lemons, also issued another plea for those who know something about her daughter to come forward with the information.
"The only thing I can say is how can somebody be so cruel to do something like that?" she said. "I hope I can face this person and he can tell me to my face why he did it and (hear) him apologize for the hell he put me and my family through."
According to the Ross County Sheriff's Office, Jeremy Ault, 38, of Lakewood Drive, was arrested Monday by the Chillicothe Police Department and charged with inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Officials say "investigators were able to obtain search warrants that led them" early Monday morning to Ault, who confessed to sending a tip from a fake Facebook profile that said he had "information that the body of Wanda Lemons had been dumped in Ross Lake," the release said.
The tip was sent to local law enforcement and to the Chillicothe Gazette and sent investigators from multiple agencies on a search of Ross Lake for two days. Nothing was found. Investigators said today they will no longer be searching the lake.
Despite the hoax, sheriff's Lt. Mike Preston said the department has to investigate every tip as credible until it's proven otherwise.
"Any time information like that comes in, we have to take it seriously until it's proven otherwise," he said, adding that Ault will be prosecuted and will face multiple charges from the sheriff's office alone once the investigation is complete.
Preston said the office is compiling a dollar amount for how much the search cost between the multiple agencies and plan to have a specific number upon completion of the investigation. Ault could be asked to repay the money used for manpower and other expenses during the search.
Nearly as soon as the search began, Willett was at the scene and remained there during the search through Saturday. Monday, she said the news about the hoax hadn't truly sunk in yet, she was frustrated that someone could be "so cold-hearted to do that."
She pleaded for closure and encouraged those with credible tips to come forward.
"If anybody has tips, be sure that you have a tip that can help. Don't be writing things that ain't true," she said. "If the person's out there that did this to (Wanda), just come forward. Clear your conscience and let's put a stop to all this."
We'll have more on this as the story develops.
Read or Share this story: http://ohne.ws/2wMQh9d
0 Response to "Ross Lake tips were a hoax, investigators say; man arrested in Chillicothe - Chillicothe Gazette"
Post a Comment