OH - Ryan Zimmerman, 21, Columbus, 25 Sept 2015

[Gardener1850]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP64203
Ryan Zimmerman

Male, White / Caucasian
Height 6' 3" (75 Inches)
Weight 160 lbs

Brown Hair
Brown Eyes

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact September 25, 2015
NamUs Case Created January 9, 2020
Last Known Location Map
Location Columbus, Ohio
Franklin County

Circumstances of Disappearance
Family last had contact with Ryan on September 25th, 2015. His vehicle was later found abandoned.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[iulia]

His Charley Project page lists as source information the Ohio Attorney General Missing Persons page, but I've search that page and he is no longer listed. I found a cached version of that page, so he was listed there at some point. I wonder why he's no longer there..

His missing page provides an interesting info that he may have been spotted hitchhiking a couple of months after he went missing.

Missing: Ryan Zimmerman

Ryan Zimmerman has been missing since Sept 27th from Columbus, Ohio, but may have been seen in Dayton, Ohio and, Taylor Missouri hitchhiking on Nov. 24th

 

[Darling136]

It’s believed Zimmerman was killed elsewhere, and parts of his body were dumped near Coldwater Creek just off U.S. 127 on the western side of Grand Lake St. Marys. Only his torso, minus his head, was found there.

Human remains identified in Mercer County - The Lima News

Found deceased

 

[Gardener1850]

It’s believed Zimmerman was killed elsewhere, and parts of his body were dumped near Coldwater Creek just off U.S. 127 on the western side of Grand Lake St. Marys. Only his torso, minus his head, was found there.

Human remains identified in Mercer County - The Lima News

Found deceased

How horrifying. I hope they find his murderer.

Rest in Peace Ryan.

 

[Gardener1850]

We had an unidentified thread for his remains here: OH - OH - Celina, Male Skeletal UP14649, 20-35, at Grand Lake St Mary's, Jan'16

 

[wendybtn]

Oxygen isotopes?! Who knew? Science is wonderful.
RIP.

 

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, Ryan. He seemed like a fine young man. My thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones.

 

[Vail]

“From what we were able to gather, Ryan moved to Columbus, Ohio, in August of 2015. He moved there because he met some people on the internet that he developed a friendship with over the internet, and as I understand that he liked to play internet games and that kind of stuff,” Grey said.
Human remains identified in Mercer County - The Lima News

https://www.facebook.com/vid.vidd (I think his brother changed the profile pic)

I did find this. not much info.
Missing: Ryan Zimmerman

more on the oxygen isotope method: Oxygen Isotopes Help ID 2016 Human Remains

and on the bones: Bones found in Mercer County indicate man was dismembered - The Lima News

So odd, why here and not the lake? There is a convenient turn out there and I wonder if it flooded at some point? I hope they search that pond for the rest of him.




This is over 100 miles from Columbus/ 2hrs away.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What a tragedy. Condolences to his family.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Indiana Woman Arrested in Death of Young Man Whose Remains Were Found in an Ohio State Park in 2016

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

In June of 2020, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office announced a forensic anthropologist using DNA positively identified those remains as 21-year old Zimmerman of Columbus, Ohio. Some of his remains have never been found.

Based on forensic evidence, investigators determined Zimmerman was originally from Corbin, Kentucky. They spoke with his parents and learned Zimmerman had moved to Columbus in the months before his death. He had moved in with Sarah Buzzard and her ex-husband who he had met on social media. Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey Mercer said he made a promise to the parents that they would get an answer concerning their son’s death.

Sheriff Grey said in the last 14 months numerous search warrants were served on various tech companies, specifically social media firms, some of which Grey admitted he had never heard of, meaning sites other than Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Based on information gained from those warrants, detectives were able to hone in on where Zimmerman was killed and they contacted the Columbus, Ohio Police Department for assistance in the case. Detectives then established that possible suspects lived in Marion, Indiana. They also learned of a possible witness who lived in North Carolina and they interviewed that person. Earlier this month they were able to find out exactly where the killing and dismemberment took place. Next, investigators found the car that had been used to transport Zimmerman’s remains from Columbus to Mercer County where they were dumped. It had been sold and detectives made contact with the new owner who willingly cooperated with them.

Then on Tuesday, detectives conducted interviews simultaneously with people in Marion, Columbus and Oak Island North Carolina so no one involved in those conversations could tip off others being interviewed.

Following those interviews, it was determined enough evidence had been gathered to issue arrest warrants.

On Wednesday, Sarah Buzzard was taken into custody and faces four counts of tampering with evidence, one count of grand theft auto and two counts of abuse of a corpse. When detectives served the search warrant on Buzzard’s wife, Naria Jenna Whitaker pulled a handgun from her purse and shot herself dead in front of five police officers.

Sheriff Grey said Buzzard could face additional charges and she is scheduled to appear in Mercer County court on Friday. He also said he couldn’t comment on a motive.

Marion woman arrested in dismembering; her wife and second suspect dies by suicide | WANE 15

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What on Earth. Rooting for justice for him with any remaining guilty persons and justice and answers for the sake of his family.

 

[evilwise]

Wow! Oxygen isotope analysis, hunting down a used car that had been resold for forensic analysis. Sounds like a lot of investigating went into this case and there is probably still some to be done. I'm sure Buzzard will try to pin everything onto the dead woman.

At this point, the story I'm seeing is that Ryan met this woman, Buzzard through online gaming and moved to another state to live with her even though her ex-husband was also still living there and then Ryan was most likely murdered not by this ex husband (not mentioned as having been arrested) but by another woman (apparently in Indiana) who would then go on to marry Buzzard.

Something tells me this Buzzard woman is one of those online drama queens and it got completely out of control.

 

[evilwise]

I'm very curious to see this Naria person (failed) but in my digging I was surprised to discover on LinkedIn that Buzzard is a competent illustrator

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbuzzard

Which links to her page

S. Buzzard Illustration

From the "contact" page of which are all kinds of links to art sites but I did a little more digging and uncovered her personal facebook

Log into Facebook

But I wasn't able to find any trace of a Naria Jenna Whitaker before I lost my patience for art school types' facebooks. Maybe someone else can find her.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Ohio Woman Gets Life Sentence for Murdering and Dismembering 21-Year-Old Whose Torso Was Found in State Park

Sarah E. Buzzard was sentenced to life in prison for the 2016 murder of Ryan R. Zimmerman, whose body she then dismembered and discarded in a park.

lawandcrime.com

A 30-year-old Ohio woman may spend the rest of her life behind bars for brutally murdering a Kentucky man in 2016, then dismembering and discarding his body in a state park.
[…]
During an interview with sheriff’s detectives, Buzzard confessed that she strangled and dismembered Zimmerman, according to WBAT. She reportedly said that Whitaker assisted her in the slaying. Her ex-husband was reportedly not a suspect in the murder case.

Beyond Criminal Headlines: Cheryl McHenry on Ryan Zimmerman

Following a six-year investigation, authorities have finally wrapped up the case surrounding the death of 22-year-old Ryan Zimmerman.

www.wsbradio.com

 

[just_thinking]

Very sad ending. I'm new to the forum. I live in Van Wert County, OH. This is right next to Mercer where some of Ryan's remains were found.
I used to be a resident of Indiana and still have a lot of family over there.... some in the area Sarah Buzzard (one of the murders) is from. Since her arrest I've thought about a male that's been missing since Feb 16, 2016 from Blackford County, Indiana. His name is/was Matthew Alan DeCamp. Blackford County is small and right next to grant county. I just can't help but wonder if Ryan may not have been there only victim - yes, I'm speculating, but if memory serves me correctly, Ryan's dad was interviewed and said his child has some learning disabilities and longed for friends, he met Sarah and them online - that's how they were able to get Ryan to move in with them. I believe I heard those same things (learning disability, not many friends) stated about Matthew when he went missing.
I'm not sure how to approach this without sounding bonkers so I thought I'd come here to see what others opinions are.
I searched Matthew DeCamp's name on the forum, but found nothing - being new, I'm not sure I searched correctly.
If this isn't allowed, I apologize and ask you to remove it.
Thank you for any advice or thoughts you may have.