Bringing Faith home: Cold case still puzzling investigators

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio (WDTN) - A pair of flip flops; some muddy footprints. They're the only clues deputies have to find a Clark County woman who vanished one year ago.

As Faith Willison's case turns cold, friends and family members gathered at Buck Creek State Park in Clark County to hold on to hope.

"It's just, it's not knowing the answer and knowing the type of person that Faith is, it's just very difficult to figure that out," said Rob Dement, Willison's nephew.

The puzzle has proved hard to piece together for investigators as well.

At 6:20 on the morning of June 28, 2010, a delivery truck driver reports seeing Willison's car veer off the road in the 12400 block of East National Road. The driver immediately turned around to help and called 911, but when he got to the crash scene, he found no one in the car. The vehicle had hit a tree, but the air bags had not deployed and there were no signs of injury from the crash. When deputies arrived, they found those flip flops, lying in front of the car, along with what appeared to be footprints.

Search crews combed the area on foot, with dogs, and from the air. The Clark County Sheriff's Office has requested help from several other law enforcement agencies, and still, a year later, those remain the best pieces of evidence.

"We tried to ping the cell phone and it went dead. We've never had a credit card used, a check written, no sightings, no information, so it's a very strange case that will remain open until she's found or she comes home," said Sheriff Gene Kelly, Clark County.

Those who loved Willison said that's why their vigil is so important, to keep the search for her alive.

"We've recounted everything that we did in this investigation - what else could we do, what have we not done. We've had other people review our investigation and I think at this point we all agree, we've done everything that we can do. This vigil tonight, we're hoping will make someone come forward. We believe people have information," Kelly said.

"No matter how insignificant they think it may be, just please call Sheriff Kelly's office and share that information and help us continue to work towards finding an answer," Dement said.

Willison's family along with fellow members of the 1971 class of South High School have put up reward money for information. If you know anything about the disappearance of Faith Willison, call the Clark County Sheriff's Office at 937-328-2560.