CANTON, Ohio — For 47 years, Chrystal Otis shared a unique bond with her twin sister, Charise Otis. But now, Chrystal Otis feels an agonizing void following the tragic and mysterious death of her sister.
"She wasn't just somebody. She was my twin sister and she was loved," Otis said. "Her heart was so pure and true, just a ball of energy, joy and fresh air."
On Tuesday afternoon, not far from a baseball field and a school, a man made a shocking discovery—a body wrapped in blankets along a small wooded area near the Nimishillen Creek Off 3rd Street SE in Canton.
Police said ratchet straps were attached to the blankets. The woman bound inside the blankets was later identified as Charise Otis.
A man who found the body called 911 and described what he saw.
"It looks like a full person's body," he said. "A blue blanket with like a yellow fabric tied around it."
The father of the twins, Kelly Levert, is now forced to say goodbye to one of his daughters.
"You never understand what somebody else is going through until you actually go through it, and it's a very hurtful thing," Levert said.
Chrystal Otis says her sister dealt with mental health and addiction issues and moved around a bit, staying with friends. She was possibly last seen on April 1, but was not reported missing.
Canton Police are not commenting on the case, and it's not clear when or how she died or who left her body by the river, but Otis feels the circumstances point to foul play.
"We don't know. We don't got no answers. Somebody had to of tied her up and somebody had to put her in the woods. She would never be down there by herself. She can't tie herself up," Otis said.
Levert believes there are people out there who know the truth.
"No family, and I mean no family, should have to suffer this way," he said. "My thing is to the people who are out there, turn yourself in"
His daughter's remains were taken to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. But Chrystal Otis said that it could be weeks or months before she gets answers on what happened to her sister.
"God's gonna find them and bring them out and justice is gonna be served and I know that with all of my heart," she said.
On Friday at 5 p.m., family and friends will gather near the creek for a vigil to honor and remember Charise Otis and release red balloons, her favorite color.
"To tell her we loved her and just to say goodbye," Chrystal Otis said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Canton Police at 330-489-3144.
