Miamisburg missing woman: Nearby land dug up, police have person of interest

Authorities say they have a person of interest in the case of a missing Miamisburg woman who has been the focus of a search that has expanded beyond the initial Lower Miamisburg Road property.

The unnamed “strong person of interest” in the case of Chelsey Coe has been identified only as a male, Miamisburg Sgt. Jeff Muncy said Thursday, a day in which earth removal continued in the search that has included FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents.

Muncy declined to say why the person is of interest.

“I can’t say,” he said.

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Muncy said FBI and local officers – including Miamisburg Chief John Sedlak — returned with police dogs Thursday morning to the property at 551 Lower Miamisburg – Coe’s last-known address – and obtained permission from a nearby landowners to search additional grounds.

Crews worked in and around a pole barn next door to the 551 address for much of the day, and a backhoe was used later in the afternoon to dig near the barn. Agents also used shovels to dig by hand in another spot close to the barn, owned by longtime residents Rex and Connie Boomershine.

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Police “don’t have any specific knowledge that Chelsey is there” on the Lower Miamisburg properties, Muncy said. On Wednesday, Muncy said he could not disclose whether police thought Coe was still alive.

Connie Boomershine said she has lived on the street just west of the Great Miami River for about 28 years. She said her neighbor who lives at the 551 property bought the place about three years ago.

“He seems to be a very nice, very calm person,” she said.

“I personally don’t think they’re going to find her, because I don’t think (the neighbor) had anything to do with it,” Boomershine said.

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Coe was 25 when she was reported missing by her mother in September. Shula Woodworth, who lives in Adams County area, said she filed the report on her daughter after not hearing from Coe for a few months.

Authorities returned to the scene Thursday morning after a one-day hiatus that came following a 14-hour search on Tuesday.

The first-day of the search included backhoes, jackhammers and ground-penetrating radar equipment as authorities dismantled a deck in the rear of the 551 property. The undisclosed evidence seized Tuesday is being processed by the FBI and Miamisburg police, Muncy said.

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On Thursday, vehicles came and went from the scene as police blocked off traffic on Lower Miamisburg east and west of the 551 address.

The activities in the quiet neighborhood just west of the Great Miami River were described by resident Josh Tincher as “crazy.”

“I just can’t believe anything like this has ever happened in this little small town,” said Tincher, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years.

“I’ve got a little 10-year-old, and he rides his bike through here,” he added. “I know it’s safe in here. But I can’t understand how something like this would happen here.”

Tincher said he is “hoping that (Coe’s) family has closure” and she “can rest in peace.”

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