Missing Ohio Woman Whose Ex-Boyfriend Was Arrested For Kidnapping Found Dead In Trunk Of Car

An Ohio woman missing since last month has been found dead in the trunk of her car this week while her ex-boyfriend remains in custody for kidnapping.

The body of Melinda Davis, 33, was found on Sunday in the trunk of her black Volkswagen Jetta, which was parked in a lot of an apartment complex near Galloway, Ohio, News 5 Cleveland reports. The beloved mother of four was last seen alive on February 25 after she told friends that she was going to her ex-boyfriend’s house in Mansfield to pick up a few of her things. That day, she made a comment to a friend in a text message that disturbed her, according to local reports.

“She said I’m almost to Johnny’s house, if you don’t hear from me in a few hours, something may have gone wrong. I said, 'Oh my gosh, you’ve got me freaked out,'” her friend, Paula Littlefield, recalled.

Melinda Davis and John Henry Mack Jr. Photo: Shelby Police Department; Richland County Sheriff's Office

The following day, authorities searched the home of Davis’s ex-boyfriend, 43-year-old John Henry Mack Jr., and found blood on the premises, prompting them to issue a warrant for his arrest, citing kidnapping, WOIO reports. He was arrested the following week, on March 4.

Davis’s body was found more than one week later after a citizen called the Columbus Police Department to report having spotted her car.

Tiffany Kyser, a local resident who lives near the area where Davis’s car and body were found, told the Mansfield News Journal that she’d seen the car in the area as early as February 27, but hadn’t thought to report it.

"I get in my car to smoke a lot of times," Kyser said. "What if she was alive and I was right there?"

The complex is less than a mile away from where Mack worked as a truck driver, according to the Journal.

Following the tragic discovery, authorities had Davis’s body taken to Montgomery County, where an autopsy to determine her cause of death will be completed, News 5 Cleveland reports. In the meantime, two others have been arrested: Mack’s son, Jaybyn Mack, and Jaybyn Mack’s wife, Alexandria Mack, were both charged with obstruction of justice, according to the outlet.

Officials said during a press conference Monday that any further charges John Henry Mack may face have yet to be determined.

Prior to Sunday’s discovery, Davis's family and friends gathered to form search parties and raised more than a thousand dollars to offer a reward in an effort to encourage those in the community to share any pertinent tips with authorities, according to an online fundraising campaign that has since ended.