‘She didn’t go missing by accident;’ More than 60 volunteers search for missing Dayton mother

DAYTON — Around 70 volunteers searched areas of southwest Dayton Saturday in the hopes of finding any leads that could bring Cierra Chapman home.

Volunteers included members of the Dock Ellis foundation, Dayton police officers, Equusearch, the Ohio Special Response Team and even the FBI, according to Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns

All hoping to find 30-year-old Chapman who was last seen in the early morning hours on Tuesday, Dec. 27 leaving her ex-boyfriend’s apartment in Trotwood.

She was driving her silver Cadillac, SRX 2014, Ohio plate JVQ8612, when she left the apartment.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Very large search’ to be conducted for missing Dayton woman, Cierra Chapman

Volunteers met at Arthur O Fisher Park at 9 a.m.

Johns said as of around 12 p.m. Saturday, Chapman had not been found but “it’s still very early.”

“We plan to search all day today, if we don’t find her, keep searching until we do,” Johns said.

Chapman’s family also helped in the search, something Johns said “he can’t imagine” as a father.

“It’s a very strong family, they just want to bring Cierra home, and find her and find out who is responsible for this,” he said.

Police have said many times that they do not believe Chapman went missing by accident and consider her disappearance a “well-planned event.”

“People in the community, from our investigation, know what happened to Cierra ... she didn’t go missing by accident. This was a planned event. So we need people to come forward and do the right thing and tell us what happened,” Johns said.

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Friday, police announced in a press conference that the FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Chapman.

Something that Johns admits he hasn’t seen in his 31 years in the service.

Those a part of the search remind people that these are not public searches and the areas where agencies are seen searching should not be shared for the integrity of the investigation.

Anyone with information on Chapman’s whereabouts should contact Dayton Police Department at (937) 333-COPS (937-333-2677) or Crime Stoppers at (937) 222-STOP.

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