The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
WOODS SEARCHED FOR WOMAN’S BODY
Middleburg Heights woman missing for more than 2 years; arrest in case made in California
An arrest in California led to a search June 21 in a wooded area in Elyria for the body of Tierra Bryant, who has been missing for more than two years, but law enforcement officials did not find her remains.
Yellow tape and unmarked police vehicles blocked Mussey Avenue near a railroad track about a block from West River Street.
Special Agent Vicki Anderson, a spokesperson for the FBI in Cleveland, said the 19-yearold Middleburg Heights woman was last seen March 30, 2015.
About 20 investigators from the FBI as well as Elyria and Middleburg Heights police departments searched the woods, Anderson said.
“There was an arrest made in Sacramento, Calif., regarding this case, and there was information that brought us here
(in Elyria),” she said.
According to a news release from the Middleburg Heights police, that department and the FBI, and the Cleveland Division’s Violent Crime Task Force announced the arrest of 39-year-old Rashad Hunt in the death of Bryant.
The release stated the Middleburg Heights Police, the FBI and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office coordinated efforts with the Sacramento Police Department to provide assistance in arresting Hunt at 7:45 a.m. June 21.
“The investigators and the prosecutorial team feel very confident that Bryant is deceased, so they’re moving forward with the murder charge,” Anderson said.
Hunt will be transported to Cleveland to face the murder charge, the release stated. This continues to be an ongoing investigation, so additional information cannot be provided at this time, the department added.
The investigators searched through briars and burrs, Anderson said.
About 2:42 p.m., the FBI began packing up tables and equipment. By 3:15 p.m. Anderson replied by email that the search was halted. Nothing was found, she said.
Valorie Sherbert, 46, who moved about six months ago to a home in the 600 block of Mussey Avenue, said she did not know about the search until her daughter saw postings on Facebook.
“I guess it would be an ideal spot with nothing over there,” said Sherbert, who formerly lived in Lorain. “It’s kind of creepy to know there could be a dead body on the other side of the tracks. It’s pretty quiet here.”
Sherbert said Mussey Avenue is a busy street because people use it as a short cut between the west and east sides of the city.
“It’s kind of creepy to know there could be a dead body on the other side of the tracks. It’s pretty quiet here.”
— Resident Valorie Sherbert