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Massive search for mother

Jessie Davis is nine months pregnant. The only witness, so far, is her 2-year-old son.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 22, 2007

UNIONTOWN, Ohio - Combing back yards, vacant fields and a Christmas tree farm, about 1, 800 volunteers on Thursday searched for a woman who was nine months pregnant when she disappeared last week.

Some were on horseback, driving golf carts or riding all-terrain vehicles. Those on foot were told to walk 3 feet apart to ensure they didn't overlook a tire mark, fresh dirt or some other clue to the disappearance of Jessie Davis.

"You just can't go home and assume somebody will take care of it, " said Barb Schollaerd, 51, of North Canton. "We look after our own."

Davis, 26, whose baby is due July 3, was last heard from in a phone call with her mother June 13. Two days later, her mother checked on her home in nearby Lake Township and found it in shambles, with the furniture overturned, a comforter missing and her 2-year-old grandson wandering around alone.

The little boy told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

Authorities have repeatedly talked with and searched the home of the man who fathered Davis' son, although investigators have said Canton police Officer Bobby Cutts Jr. is not a suspect.

Cutts, 30, says he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance. The woman's family says he is also the father of Davis' unborn baby.

Volunteers searched the area around Davis' northeast Ohio home for about 4 1/2 hours before the effort was suspended because of heavy rain.

"I can't believe how many people are out there. It's amazing, " said the missing woman's younger sister, Whitney Davis, who wore a T-shirt with her sister's picture and the word "Missing" in red letters. "I think we're going to find her."

Authorities gave no indication that Thursday's search had turned up any evidence.

The turnout made the search the largest of hundreds conducted by the internationally active group Texas EquuSearch. "We've never had that many show up at one time, " said EquuSearch director Tim Miller.

[Last modified June 22, 2007, 01:22:12]