Dispatch investigation, billboard inspired lawmaker to propose bill on missing persons

Every day on her way to the office, Ohio Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, drives past a billboard on West Broad Street that reminds her why she does the work she does.

The billboard shows a photo of Andrew (Andy) Chapman, a local man who has been missing from Cockley's district for more than 15 years. Her district covers parts of Columbus' West Side, including the Hilltop neighborhood, which Cockley said is home to vulnerable populations like those who are missing or victims of trafficking.

Andy Chapman's story, highlighted in an investigation by The Dispatch, is one reason Cockley teamed up with Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, to introduce Ohio House Bill 217 on April 1.

The bill, called the FIND Act (Finding and Identifying with NamUs Data), would require law enforcement agencies around the state to enter information about missing residents into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) within 30 days of a report being filed with police.

NamUs helps law enforcement officials identify missing people across state lines and "VANISHED," an investigation by The Dispatch published in November, found that Ohio police rarely use every tool at their disposal to bring missing persons home, including NamUs.

The Dispatch investigation also prompted Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to create a working group on the topic, intended to examine the findings of VANISHED and make recommendations that could help find more missing Ohioans. The working group hosted its sixth and final regular meeting April 17 and is expected to release recommendations soon.

VANISHED found that Ohio law enforcement failed to enter hundreds of names into NamUs, the federal database that's helped to solve more than 46,000 cases.

Though the billboard Cockley passes by each day hasn't yielded the tips Chapman's family has hoped for since it went up in January, his sister Aimee Chapman said the bill, and Cockley, give her hope.

The two met on April 17 and "she just offered a lot of hope," Aimee Chapman said of Cockley.

"It just feels like a glimmer of hope that all these hands are on deck to make all these changes so another family doesn't have to go through the mishaps that we've gone through," Aimee Chapman said.

When Andy Chapman, 32 at the time, disappeared in December 2006, he was in the throes of addiction, his family said. Aimee Chapman and his mother Judy Rafferty said they felt police largely disregarded Andy's case due to his addiction.

But Aimee Chapman said there's much more to her brother than the addiction he suffered from. She described him as a funny, caring father who loved the Detroit Lions and worked hard to earn a living in his job at the clerk of court's office in Columbus.

Aimee Chapman and her mom, who have repeatedly spoken out to try to find Andy, hope that the bill means other families won't have to struggle as much to get the word out about their missing loved ones.

Whether Andy Chapman is ever found or not, Aimee Chapman said she believes his story and disappearance will make a difference.

"I believe he's guiding us through all of this," she said. "What we're doing is we're changing his legacy and giving a voice to the voiceless."

Along with Chapman's story, Cockley said The Dispatch's VANISHED investigation and her interest in true crime, including the popular "Crime Junkie" podcast, encouraged her to create the bill.

"I know these stories ... are not just stories for entertainment, these are people with real lives and real experiences that need justice," Cockley said.

Before VANISHED, Cockley knew about NamUs but not that it was not being utilized enough in Ohio, she said.

The Dispatch found that of 366 Ohio children the state listed as missing a year or more, law enforcement failed to enter 327, or 89% of those missing kids, into NamUs. The Dispatch compiled its own database of Ohioans missing for more than a year who had not been submitted to NamUs.

"The Dispatch coming and bringing all the information as to where it stands in Ohio is incredibly helpful," Cockley said.

While working on drafting the bill, which has broad bipartisan support, Cockley and Ritter looked at the laws of 16 other states that require law enforcement enter cases in NamUs, she said.

Both Ritter and Cockley were surprised that Ohio didn't already have a law on the books requiring law enforcement to enter data into the clearinghouse. To her, it's a "no-brainer."

At orientation for her new position as a representative in November, Cockley and Ritter talked for a hour about the vulnerable populations in both their districts. Ritter represents the 94th district, which includes parts of Meigs, Washington and Athens counties and is home to areas with high levels of drug and human trafficking around Interstate 77, he said.

Missing people is a topic those in his district "think about every day," Ritter said.

So, the two started talking to law enforcement officers about it.

Both said officers were very receptive and even enthusiastic about the bill and what it would require.

"It probably is going to require a little bit of extra work on their end," Ritter said, as officers will have to enter information into an additional database when someone has been missing for 30 days. "But ... they genuinely want to reunite families, they genuinely want to find answers to questions. We didn't find any of the roadblocks we thought might be possible. They jumped on it."

Ritter's district, near the West Virginia border, could especially benefit as it is very difficult to track missing people once they cross state lines, he said.

"I want folks to have hope. I want them to know that the search isn't over," Ritter said. "This is a very powerful tool beyond what we've had previously in the state of Ohio and I know there are families, grieving families, longing to be reunited with a loved one that are on the edge of losing that hope."

Cockley said the bill is an example of how Ohio legislators can work together, across the aisle, to have a positive impact for Ohioans.

"I hope this piece of legislation can kind of be a framework for how Republicans and Democrats work together to make a positive impact," she said.

At the minimum, Cockley hopes that families like the Chapmans know from this bill that the government can work for them, that lawmakers hear them, that families have a voice and their advocacy matters.

Beyond that, Cockley hope the bill becoming law will mean more cold cases can be solved and families of those who are missing get some closure and answers.

"I think this is going to be pivotal in solving missing persons cases," Chapman said of House Bill 217.

Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.

Dispatch investigative reporter Max Filby can be reached by email at mfilby@dispatch.com. Find him on X at the handle @MaxFilby or on Facebook at @ReporterMaxFilby.