By: JUSTIN STORY, Staff Writer
Submitted: 5/6/2004
FAYETTEVILLE, Ohio -- As investigators continue to search for the body of Clarissa 'Carrie' Culberson, Carrie's mother Debra Culberson remains resolute that this latest effort will be successful.
'I have no reason not to be optimistic,' said Culberson shortly after authorities concluded another day of work at the site of a barn on Fayetteville-Blanchester Road about a mile from the Clinton County border.
Several family members wore buttons with Carrie's picture on them, and a sign was placed across from the entrance to the property where investigators are conducting their search.
The sign reads, 'Justice for Carrie -- Disappeared but not forgotten.'
Carrie, 22, disappeared in 1996 and was declared dead two years later.
Her boyfriend, Vincent Doan, was convicted in 1997 of her murder and is currently serving a life sentence.
Doan's brother, Tracey Baker, is serving an eight-year sentence for obstruction of justice related to the case.
A third cadaver dog brought to the site Wednesday picked up a scent, but dug in many areas of the barn. Two other dogs dug in the exact same spot.
Brown County Chief Deputy John Dunn said the newest cadaver dog had less experience, but added that the sheriff's department wanted the handler to observe and comment on the search.
'He came in to look at our site and assess what the dogs were doing,' said Dunn.
In addition to a cadaver dog, another expert, forensic anthropologist Dr. Beth Murray, visited the site during the morning to also observe the searching process.
Authorities at the scene said Murray encouraged investigators to continue as they had been doing and did not suggest altering their methods.
Murray, from the College of Mount St. Joseph, has identified human remains and determined cause of death in several previous criminal cases in the area.
As the family waits for another breakthrough, Debra Culberson receives daily support from passersby, whether friends or strangers.
A man driving a pickup truck gave her a single red rose and a note of encouragement Wednesday.
'Hoping you can finally put your daughter to rest in peace with God and that this will be your greatest Mother's Day ever,' the note reads. Culberson said she did not know the person who gave her the gifts.
'It's nice to know there are people I don't even know who are still thinking of us,' she said.
Tuesday, she received a dozen red roses and one yellow rose.
Dunn, meanwhile, said a fourth cadaver dog would be brought to the scene today, primarily to reconfirm that a scent other dogs have detected is traceable to a specific spot under the disturbed ground beneath the barn's concrete floor.
Earlier discussion of tearing down a wall of the barn in order to accommodate heavier equipment will not be acted upon, according to Dunn, who said he 'doesn't see a problem' with a larger machine fitting into the building.
In another development, Jarrod Messer, the owner of the property housing the barn, has been transferred from prison in Montgomery County to Warren County, Ohio.
Messer is serving a two-year sentence for charges unrelated to this case.
'We're interviewing everybody associated with the case,' said Dunn. 'We've put him closer to us in case investigators need him for something.'