http://wvgazette.com/section/News/Today/2006072419Family searches West Side for missing Belle womanJuly 25, 2006 By Morgan Kelly Staff writer
Friends and family of Melanie Metheny combed Charleston's West Side after the missing mother of three's minivan was found there Sunday. All wondered why the Belle resident's vehicle was in a neighborhood they say she had no reason to visit.
Metheny, 21, was reported missing Wednesday after she failed to pick up her kids up from a day-care center that evening.
Calls from West Side residents led Kanawha County sheriff's deputies to Metheny's gold minivan parked at the corner of Wyoming Street and Beuhring Avenue. Neighbors said the van had been parked there since at least 2 p.m. Wednesday.
"I didn't even know she knew anyone down there," said Matt Harper, the father of Metheny's two youngest children.
He and Metheny's father, James Metheny, drove the West Side's streets looking for Melanie until 3:30 a.m. Monday, Harper said. A few people said they saw a woman matching Metheny's description, but the leads went nowhere, he said.
Harper's mother, Donna Miller, put up fliers all over the West Side on Monday, receiving prayers and condolences as she went, she said.
"She may not be down here, but it's not going to hurt to put these fliers up," Miller said.
Harper said he and Metheny split up eight months ago and have had limited contact since. During their three years together, he never knew of her to visit the West Side, he said.
Lt. Sean Crosier of the Sheriff's Department said the case has not developed much since the discovery of the minivan Sunday.
A search of the vehicle turned up several documents and phone numbers, but further investigation did not yield anything substantial as of Monday afternoon, Crosier said. Investigators continue to conduct interviews, he said.
Metheny only came to Charleston for nursing classes at the Garnet Career Center on downtown's Dickinson Street, said Jared Davis, her current boyfriend. He and Metheny have been together for about five months, he said.
Davis knows people on the West Side, but not in the area the minivan was found and no one Metheny knew well enough to visit without him, he said.
Recent news reports quoted James Metheny as saying that Davis was the last to see Melanie. Davis said he last saw her before he left for work around 7 a.m. Wednesday.
He later tried to call her around noon, but she did not pick up, he said. She usually called him at least once before noon, but never called him Wednesday, Davis said.
Metheny stayed with him in Campbells Creek after apparently leaving the house she shared with her two teenage brothers, Davis said. She often complained that the boys were messy and ate the food she bought for her children, he said.
He and Metheny were looking for a bigger place and had called a few places, Davis said.
Metheny's minivan had several objects lying on the passenger seat, including a piece of paper with a handwritten St. Albans phone number and the words "3 bedroom, 2 bath, 15,000."
A business card for a Belle police officer was also in the front seat. Metheny apparently filed a report not long ago about a woman threatening to beat her up, according to Belle Police Chief R.J. Sizemore.
The woman approached Metheny about speeding through their neighborhood, the two argued and the woman told Metheny, "I'll kick your scrawny little a--," Sizemore said.
Very little came of the incident, Davis said. The only threat to him and Metheny came from a juvenile who recently stole her minivan, he said. The van was recovered in Ravenswood, he said.
Metheny apparently confronted the boy once and he picked up a rock when she turned to walk away, Davis said. A friend who was with Metheny shouted out and the boy dropped the rock, he said.
James Metheny also disappeared a few years ago, but returned when people began looking for him, Sizemore said. As he recalled it, James left after fighting with his wife at the time.
"He got tired of her crap and left home," Sizemore said. "He was gone long enough to get them concerned."
When asked if Melanie would ever just leave, Davis said she would never "forget about her kids unless she was forced to."
