Sheriff: Missing mom, others may be dead
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This police booking photo provided by the Knox County Sheriff, shows 30-year-old Matthew Hoffman in Mount Vernon, Ohio. A 13-year-old girl who went missing with her mother, brother and a friend was found bound and gagged Sunday Nov. 14, 2010 in the basement of Hoffman's home, authorities said. Knox County Sheriff David Barber said Sarah Maynard's mother, Tina Herrmann, is still missing, along with her 10-year-old brother, Kody, and her mother's 41-year-old friend Stephanie Sprang. Barber said 30-year-old Matthew Hoffman was arrested on one count of kidnapping and that more charges are expected. (AP Photo/Knox County Sheriff)
Associated Press
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio
Fearing the worst, investigators searched a lake for three missing people Monday after a teenage girl who disappeared along with them was found bound and gagged in the basement of a man’s home nearby.
Sheriff David Barber conceded that 13-year-old Sarah Maynard’s mother and brother and a family friend may be dead. All four vanished last Wednesday from the girl’s home, which was splattered with blood, police said.
“We still would like to retain a hopeful attitude,” the sheriff said, “but we have to be realistic.”
On Sunday, Sarah was rescued from the home of 30-year-old ex-convict Matthew J. Hoffman, who was arrested and charged with her kidnapping. The sheriff would not discuss details of Sarah’s ordeal.
“She is a very brave little girl,” Barber said. “Under the circumstances, a 13-year-old girl being held captive for four days by a total stranger ... I would call her the epitome of bravery.”
Investigators, using a helicopter to guide them, searched a lake, bike paths, riverbanks and other places in and around a park across from Hoffman’s home in hopes of finding Sarah’s mother, 32-year-old Tina Herrmann; the woman’s 10-year-old son, Kody Maynard; and her 41-year-old friend, Stephanie Sprang.
Police used a sonar-equipped boat to scan below the surface.