Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
Man's bones finally identified
Officials looking at local tie
By William Kincaid
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey gestures while answering questions at a Tuesday afternoon news conference at the Mercer County Sheriff's Office about the death of Ryan Zimmerman, whose bones were found south of Celina in 2016. Grey is accompanied by Detective Megan Baker.
CELINA - Human skeletal remains found on Jan. 3, 2016, near U.S. 127 and Coldwater Creek Road have been identified as those of 22-year-old Ryan R. Zimmerman of Columbus.
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey announced a major break in the homicide case during a Tuesday afternoon news conference, saying Zimmerman had moved from Corbin, Kentucky, to Columbus in August 2015 because he had met and developed friendships with some people on the internet.
Grey added that Zimmerman liked to play internet games that involved communication with others. Zimmerman's parents last had contact with their son on Sept. 27, 2015, Grey said.
"Our heart goes out to the family. I'm sure that the family was hoping for a better outcome even though he'd been missing for a long time," Grey said. "But now, from our standpoint, we feel like … we have a place to actually start now and pick up the pieces, and the best thing that we can do now is bring closure for the family."
Zimmerman had two brothers and a sister, Grey said. His parents are not suspects and have cooperated fully with authorities, he added.
"We do have some information on what I'll call subjects of interest," Grey said. "At this point we're not going to disclose that information … as we want to locate them."
Since the remains were found outside of Celina and authorities don't know where the death actually occurred, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office has jurisdiction over the case, Grey said.
Investigators basically found the skeleton of a torso without a skull or any bones below the elbows or below the knees.
"We don't have a complete skeleton, but it's very clear that the body was dismembered," Grey said. "We can show that the head was actually cut off at the spinal column. We have the saw marks that indicate that."
Investigators have not located the skull, though, and believe it was discarded in another location, Grey said, adding this fact suggests whoever is responsible was trying to prevent identification of the remains.
"We're going to say that the body was probably here two to three months before it was located, for the body to be in the state of decomposition that it was in," Grey said. "We believe that he was dead before he was dismembered."
Grey said his detectives are trying to establish the connection between Columbus and the site where Zimmerman's remains were located.
A woman walking her dog on Jan. 3 near state park land, east of U.S. 127, in a wooded area along Grand Lake reportedly found several bones and notified the sheriff's office. The skeletal remains were lying in plain view near the mouth of Coldwater Creek.
"There has to be a connection to bring people up here. If you're not from this area you wouldn't have known about that location … or if you weren't with somebody from this area," Grey said.
Grey hopes the release of Zimmerman's photo may spark someone's memory who recalls seeing the young man in the area or surrounding counties.
"I'll be really surprised if we find out that it actually happened here," Grey said about Zimmerman's death. "We do have some ideas on why (he was killed) and the circumstances surrounding (the homicide)."
In January an analyst with Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's missing persons division saw intriguing similarities between a Columbus missing person report and the bones, which were thought to have been those of a man, 20-35 years old and ranging in height from 5 feet, 7 inches to 6 feet, 1 inch, Grey had said.
The time frames also aligned, Grey said.
Zimmerman's father on Nov. 17 filed a missing person's report with the Columbus Police Department after learning that the father's car the son had been driving had been impounded in Columbus.
"BCI was able to take the DNA from the mother and the father and compare it with the skeletal remains that we had and make a positive identification," Grey said. "So now we positively know who our victim is."
Grey's office received those results on June 1.
"Last week I sent detectives to Corbin, Kentucky, and they worked with the police department down there and actually met with the family to gather more information," Grey continued. "They did collect some items that we believe have evidentiary value, and we believe those items may lead us to the people responsible."
Grey said his office may in the future release photos of people of interest in the case.
"We're not done with this case. We are going to work this case hard and try to find out who did this," Grey said, asking anyone with information to call detectives at 419-586-1450 or anonymously at 567-890-8477.
Grey said he believes the case is solvable with the public's help, emphasizing the importance of bringing closure to Zimmerman's family and his killer to justice.
Submitted Photo
Human skeletal remains found on Jan. 3, 2016, near U.S. 127 and Coldwater Creek Road have been identified as those of 22-year-old Ryan R. Zimmerman of Columbus. Zimmerman had moved from Corbin, Kentucky, to Columbus in August 2015 because he had met and developed friendships with some people on the internet. Zimmerman's parents last had contact with their son on Sept. 27, 2015, according to Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey.
