MOUNT VERNON — Little new information on the three missing persons from Apple Valley was added by Sheriff David Barber at his media briefing Tuesday afternoon.
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Still missing after almost a week are Tina Herrmann, 32; her son, Kody Maynard, 11; and her friend, Stephanie Sprang, 41. A fourth person, Herrmann’s daughter, Sarah Maynard, 13, was found alive on Sunday in a house on Columbus Road. The owner of the house, Matthew Hoffman, was arrested and charged with one count of kidnapping.
Barber did say some evidence, which he characterized as significant to the case, was found Tuesday morning but he would not confirm that it had been found near the Brown Family Environmental Center, the Kokosing Gap Trail or Lower Gambier Road.
“(We searched) that area again to be thorough,” Barber said. “Without talking to the people doing the searching, I would not know ... where we found it.”
In response to a follow-up question, Barber confirmed the evidence was a tarp and several garbage bags.
“They are important evidence to us but for me to speculate on the involvement of this evidence is premature,” Barber said. “We will determine the relationship between those particular items and the whole case.”
The sheriff also told reporters that he would have photographs of clothing the four persons were wearing on Wednesday.
“Another thing we are looking for is any information people might have of any of the three vehicles involved in the investigation,” Barber said. “The F-150 pickup truck recovered near Kenyon College, the Toyota pickup belonging to Matthew Hoffman and the silver Jeep recovered at the scene owned by Stephanie Sprang. We want people to think back to last Wednesday and Thursday. Did they see one of these vehicles, maybe parked along the road or at a restaurant. If they did they should let us know at the sheriff’s office.”
Anyone with information about the case can call the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division at 393-6800 or the TIPs line at 888-363-8477.
