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Police Say Ohio Mother Missing Since December 'Didn’t Go Missing By Accident,' Large-Scale Search Underway
Cierra Chapman disappeared on Dec. 27 after leaving her ex-boyfriend's Dayton-area apartment, according to police. Her vehicle was found 10 days later with her purse and personal belongings still inside.
The loved ones of a missing Ohio woman hope new searches will bring them closer to finding answers.
Cierra Chapman, 30, was last seen in the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 2022, after leaving her ex-boyfriend’s suburban Dayton apartment in Trotwood, according to the Dayton Police Department's Violent Crime Bureau. This Saturday, law enforcement officials and volunteers will gather for a “very large search” for the missing woman, according to Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns.
“We have identified locations based on our investigations that we are going to search,” Johns told CBS Dayton affiliate WHIO-TV.
The search will consist of approximately 50 people with “a lot of boots and a lot of law enforcement,” Cincinnati-based Equusearch-Midwest director Dave Rader told Oxygen.com. The team will be equipped with customized drones, ATVs, and cadaver dogs to be bussed in from Detroit.
Rader said he hopes to help bring closure to the family, referring to the searches as “a process of elimination.”
“We’re going to cover as many areas as we possibly can that makes the most sense,” Rader told Oxygen.com. “You always want to keep hope that she’s still alive. That’s always the hope, and when you don’t find them, you start thinking, is there a possibility? But if we come up empty-handed, at least we know where she’s not.”
Of course, being without answers has been trying for Chapman’s loved ones.
“It’s been very rough,” Chapman’s aunt, Regina Chapman, told Oxygen.com. “A lot of mixed emotions.”
Chapman, a mother of one son, reportedly left her ex-boyfriend’s Trotwood residence in a 2014 SRX silver Cadillac SUV, according to the Dayton Police Department. The vehicle was located on Jan. 6 — 10 days after Chapman vanished — in Middletown, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Trotwood.
Police stated, “Ms. Chapman was nowhere to be found.”
“Cierra’s purse and other personal items were located inside her vehicle,” said police.
“We went numb,” Regina told Oxygen.com. “Where would she be? She doesn’t know anyone in Middletown.”
The aunt said the family fears foul play.
“Her belongings were found in the car by law enforcement, and she doesn’t go anywhere without those items, nor would she go a day without calling her son or picking him up,” she told Oxygen.com.
In an interview with ABC and Fox Dayton affiliate WRGT-TV, Maj. Johns stated that Chapman’s disappearance was not random.
“She didn’t go missing by accident,” said Johns. “This was a very well-planned out, well-orchestrated incident, and people know. We know that they know, and they know that we know.”
In January, Maj. Johns categorized Chapman’s disappearance as “very strange behavior,” adding they’re “worried that something bad has happened to her,” according to the Dayton Daily News.
However, it remains unclear if investigators are looking into any suspects at this time.
The Dock Ellis Foundation, an organization aimed at “empowering minority victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and families of missing persons,” is helping the family’s efforts to find Chapman.
“The Dock Ellis Foundation hopes to bring Cierra Chapman home to her family, most importantly, her son,” Chief Strategist Officer Tanya Frazier said in a statement to Oxygen.com.
Chapman’s sister, Latisha Lofton, created a GoFundMe campaign for the missing woman’s son.
“Cierra has a son who is in need of assistance,” said loved ones. “He will require help with daily living needs and help with the continued search for his mom. This truly has been a difficult and traumatic time for him and the family; the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen day to day is taking a toll on everyone.”
“Cierra, if you’re watching, please reach out to your son,” Regina said she would say to the missing woman, telling Oxygen.com that the child “wants his mom.”
Chapman is five feet, five inches tall and weighs around 115 pounds, according to police. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
On Friday, the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers announced a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the case being solved.
Police say her disappearance is “considered suspicious.”
Anyone with information can contact the Dayton Police Department at 1-937-333-COPS (2677) or the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-937-222-STOP (7867). The Chapman family also says anyone with information can reach out to the Dock Ellis Foundation.
