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Richland County woman first reported missing now believed to be kidnapped by ex-boyfriend

Search for missing woman intensifies
Marshals joint the hunt for missing Melinda Davis
Posted at 5:33 PM, Mar 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-02 18:55:22-05

RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio — A manhunt is underway for 43-year-old John Henry Mack, Jr. He is wanted for kidnapping his former girlfriend, 33-year-old Melinda Davis.

“We think she is in danger,” said Richland County Sheriff’s Captain Donald Zehner.

The last time, Melinda Davis’s family or friends heard from her was Thursday morning. Her family said she was headed to Mack’s Mansfield home to pick us some things she had left behind. When Davis didn’t show up for a prearranged breakfast date with her niece, her family knew something was wrong and reported her missing to Shelby police officers.

“They asked us to go out to his residence and do a welfare check and see if he knew where she was, so we go to the residence and we can’t find him or her,” said Zehner. But deputies found enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant for Mack for kidnapping.

“Don’t hurt my sister, let her go,” begged Lisa Davis, Melinda’s sister.

Mack’s family is also making a plea to Mack to turn himself in to police.

“We love you, we’re extremely worried, we ask you to turn yourself in,” said his niece Whitney Mack.

John Henry Mack is a truck driver; he has not shown up for work.

On Tuesday, Lisa Davis and Melinda Davis’ current boyfriend, Jamie Barnes, spent the day canvassing truck stops and rest stops along area highways passing out flyer with pictures of Davis, her 2013 black Volkswagen Jetta with Ohio tag number JGZ8921, and Mack.

“With him being a trucker places like this where you can come shower — I guess if there are truck stops where you can lounge, if it’s life on the run. If that’s what he’s doing,” said Barnes.

The U.S. Marshals are involved in tracking down Mack. The USMS is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that directly leads to his arrest.

“If you have any information, a small piece of information, something you may not think is relevant, let the investigators decide that, let them look into that,” said US Deputy Marshal Anne Murphy.

If you have seen Davis’s car or have information about Mack or Davis's whereabouts, call the USMS at 1-866-4-WANTED or the Richland County Sheriff’s Department at 419-524-2412.

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