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Detectives
have no leads in case of missing Melanie Metheny
Friday July 21, 2006
Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff's
Department this morning still had no leads in the
search for a missing mother of three.
Detectives spent most of the day Thursday
interviewing friends, family and other acquaintances
who might have information in the disappearance of
21-year-old Melanie Metheny.
Investigators searched the Witcher Creek region in
eastern Kanawha County until about 1 a.m. for
Metheny, who hasn't been seen for almost two days.
"We will continuously put forth an effort to
find her until she's found. We won't stop until we
locate her," Sheriff's Lt. Bryan Stover said
this morning.
Metheny dropped off her children at Country Kids
Daycare in Belle about 7 a.m. on Wednesday. When she
didn't return at 6 p.m. to pick them up and day-care
employees couldn't contact her, they began to worry.
Owner Peggy Keith said Thursday the mother has
always been pleasant with employees and appears to
take care of her children, ages 4 years, 2 years and
16 months. The children have been attending the day
care for about a year.
Soon after day care employees couldn't reach her,
Metheny's family contacted police. Family members
suspect foul play. They've scoured the Kanawha
Valley for a sign of her gold and tan 1998 Chevrolet
Ventura van, W.Va. license US8255, to no avail.
Metheny's father, James, told reporters Thursday
that Melanie's boyfriend, Jared Davis, was the last
person to see her on Wednesday.
James Metheny said his daughter stays with Davis
part-time in Campbells Creek, but lives on Midland
Avenue in Belle.
Stover said there are no suspects in Metheny's
disappearance at this time.
Metheny, a former student at Riverside High, is
studying to enter college and become a nurse. Her
father said she spends her days taking classes to
prepare for a college-entrance exam.
Metheny is white, 5 feet 3 inches tall, with long,
straight strawberry-blond hair. She weighs about 100
pounds and has brown eyes. Police said no one has
described the clothes she was wearing.
"It's hard to say what happened. You can guess
a million different things. We don't like to do
that. We try to stay optimistic," Stover said.
Anyone with information can contact the Kanawha
County Sheriff's Office at 357-0169.
Police,
family baffled by disappearance
By Anna L. Mallory
Staff writer
Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s
Department were searching late last night for a
missing mother of three.
Rescue crews and K-9 units scoured an area near
Spring Fork Drive for 21-year-old Melanie Metheny.
Metheny hasn’t been seen for almost two days, and
police spent Thursday trying to piece together what
happened to her.
They said people’s tips led them to the region
near Witcher Creek.
Metheny dropped her children off at Country Kids
Daycare in Belle about 7 a.m. on Wednesday. When she
didn’t return at 6 p.m. to pick them up and
day-care employees couldn’t contact her, they
began to worry.
Metheny’s family contacted police soon after.
Family members suspect foul play. They’ve scoured
the Kanawha Valley for a sign of her gold and tan
1998 Chevrolet Ventura van, to no avail.
“This has never happened,” said James Metheny,
her father. “If she’s even going to be a couple
minutes late, she’ll call somebody and tell them
she can’t make it.”
Melanie Metheny’s boyfriend, Jared Davis, was the
last person to see her on Wednesday, her father
said.
He said she stays with Davis part-time in Campbells
Creek, but lives on Midland Avenue in Belle.
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Lt. B.C. Stover said
investigators are talking to all of Metheny’s
family and friends, but have few leads.
He said right now they’re just trying to find out
what kind of person she is.
Metheny, a former Riverside High student, wants to
be a nurse and has been studying to enter college,
her father said. She’s a quiet woman, he said, who
spends her days taking classes to prepare for a
college-entrance exam.
Metheny is white, 5 feet 3 inches tall, with long,
straight strawberry-blond hair. She’s about 100
pounds and has brown eyes.
No one can say what clothes she was wearing last,
Stover said.
About six months ago, another young woman went
missing from the Belle area, Stover said. About a
week later, she turned up after just spending time
with a boyfriend.
Employees at the day care say they can’t believe
that would be the case with Matheny.
Owner Peggy Keith said the mother has always been
pleasant with employees and appears to take care of
her children, ages 4 years, 2 years and 16 months.
The children have been attending the day care for
about a year.
The two younger children are staying with their
father’s mother and the 4-year-old is staying with
his father. The family has yet to explain to them
that their mother is missing.
“They’re too young,” said Donna Miller, their
paternal grandmother.
Miller also said Matheny never would simply abandon
her children. “Something has happened,” she
said.
Anyone with information about Matheny can contact
the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office at 357-0169.
To contact staff writer Anna L. Mallory, use e-mail
or call 348-5163.
http://sundaygazettemail.com
Missing
Mom Still a Mystery
Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2006 ; 05:37 PM
There have been few leads since her van was discovered.
Story by Ben Thompson
Five weeks after a local mother disappeared, and she's still missing.
Melanie Metheny dropped her kids off at daycare in Belle on the morning of
July 19th, and she hasn't been seen since. Family members have scoured the
area around her Campbell's Creek home. Investigators have chased down
leads, but still nothing.
A few days after she disappeared, detectives found her mini-van on
Charleston's west side.
Metheney is 5'3", about 100 pounds, and has long blonde hair.
If you have any information in the case, call the Kanawha County Sheriff's
Department at 357-0169.
http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=13368
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