FBI joins search for missing Ohio couple

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The FBI has joined local law enforcement in the search for a couple who went missing in eastern Ohio this summer.

Brian Goff, 64, and Joni Davis, 55, were last seen June 10 leaving a Pizza Hut restaurant in Bridgeport, a Belmont County village along the Ohio River opposite Wheeling, West Virginia. Authorities have said security-camera footage showed that the couple’s car then headed north on Route 7.

Relatives say the Martins Ferry couple followed a strict daily routine, which makes their disappearance more baffling. Goff became Joni Davis’ caregiver after she suffered a traumatic brain injury.

According to The Times Leader in Martins Ferry, Belmont County sheriff’s Detective Ryan Allar said his agency and the FBI are using high-tech “investigative avenues” in the search.

“We are still trying to determine what happened to these individuals and to possibly locate them if foul play was involved,” Allar said. “At this point, we are doing all we can, and we won’t stop looking until we do get our answers.”

Jackie Davis, Joni’s sister, said the FBI’s help offers more hope. “I think with the FBI resources, they are going to be able to do a lot more,” she said.

Jackie Davis’ fiance, Paul Newell, said he prays for the couple.

“I don’t know how they could be missing this long, but I feel like someone has done something to them,” Newell said. “To not find a car or anything, I just don’t know what to say.”