Matthew Hoffman Arrested in Connection with Ohio Kidnapping and Disappearances

The discovery of thirteen year old Sarah Maynard in a home in Mount Vernon, Ohio was a mixed blessing. Still missing are the thirteen-year old's brother Kody Maynard, her mother Tina Hermann, and her mother's friend, Stephanie Sprang. Matthew Hoffman , a man described as the "neighborhood weirdo," was taken into custody by police.

Television film crews following on the heels of the police yesterday aired videos of a vehicle pulled out of an Ohio lake by a police wrecker. While speculation ran wild in the bizarre case, police said the sunken vehicle was not related to the disappearances.

Thirteen year old Sarah Maynard, her mother, brother, and family friend Stephanie Sprang were apparently kidnapped from their Ohio home. News reports say the residence was littered with beer cans and smeared with blood. While shaken and receiving medical care, Sarah Maynard likely provided solid information of an as yet undisclosed content to law enforcement.

Suspect Matthew Hoffman is set to appear in court today. There are rumors Hoffman may have been watching the family before they disappeared. The thirteen year old victim was found in the basement of Hoffman's home, ten miles away from where she lived with her mother and brother. Sarah Maynard was gagged and bound when she was found in the basement of the Hoffman home.

Blood patterns were discovered in the home where the family lived, and police have not yet revealed the results of DNA analysis. However, Sheriff David Barber of the Knox County Sheriff's Department, cautioned observers and family against optimism that the three persons still missing will be found alive.

"We have to be realistic about the possibility that these folks are dead," said the Sheriff.

While it is known that suspect Matthew Hoffman has a violent past, any connections he may have had to the missing family is not yet clear. Hoffman's criminal history stems from 2001 when he pleaded guilty to a Colorado arson, theft, and burglary, felony crimes for which he served eight years in prison.

Hoffman's neighborhood reputation as a "weirdo" seems well deserved. A child interviewed on the ABC television show Good Morning America told a reporter that "he (Matthew Hoffman) doesn't go shopping...he kills squirrels and eats them." Other neighbors complained of being frightened of Hoffman because of his habit of lighting fires in his back yard.