WAUSEON — A man arrested early this morning on an abduction charge linked to the disappearance of a 20-year-old Metamora woman last seen riding a purple bike pleaded guilty to another abduction in 1990, a case that also involved a female bicyclist.

James Worley, 57, of Delta was arrested early this morning on an abduction charge related to the disappearance of Sierah Joughin, said Fulton County Sheriff Roy Miller.

Ms. Joughin has not been located, the sheriff said, and authorities continue to search for evidence at Worley’s rural Fulton Township property. Throughout the day, authorities have brought a state dive team and a small boat to the three-acre site, where a pond is located. At least one searcher was spotted wearing waders.

At a news conference just after 5 p.m. today, investigators pleaded for additional tips about the case. They are looking for someone who was riding a motorcycle with an open-faced black helmet at the area of County Road 6 somewhere between Roads S and T, where she was last seen. They would not discuss the case against Worley or talk about the case from 1990.

PHOTO GALLERY: Arrest made in woman's disappearance

Decades earlier, Worley pleaded guilty to abduction, an aggravated felony of the third degree, in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

That case involved a woman, Robin Gardner, who was bicycling on Obee Road near Whitehouse on July 4, 1990, according to old court records. The records indicate she was injured in the incident but survived.

Ms. Gardner was riding her bike when she noticed a flat-bed truck pass her in the opposite direction, according to court records. A few moments later, the same truck struck her from behind, causing her to fall from her bike and tumble into a small ditch on the side of the road. Worley then approached the woman, asked her if she was OK, and came up from behind and struck her on the head with an unknown instrument.

Worley dragged her over to the truck and told Ms. Gardner to do what he said or threatened to kill her, the court records state. He then forced her into the truck and put a handcuff on one wrist, from which she managed to break free. She escaped through the driver’s door, the records state.

A passing motorcylist picked her up, took her home, and police were called. The woman was injured during the struggle. Worley was arrested more than a week after the incident occurred. 

He was sentenced to between four and 10 years in prison. He entered prison in November of 1990 on the abduction conviction was paroled in December of 1993.

Sheriff Miller said during a news conference today that police arrested Worley early this morning after authorities canvassed the neighborhood and conducted ”old-fashioned” investigative work into the disappearance of Ms. Joughin, whose bike was found in a Fulton County cornfield this week. He said police did not know of a connection between the suspect and Ms. Joughin.

Just before 1 p.m., two Bureau of Criminal Investigation vehicles, including a forensic dive team, pulled up to Worley’s Fulton Township property, where a half a dozen emergency vehicles have blocked off access and where Sheriff Miller said authorities are searching for evidence. Aerial photographs of the property show a small body of water on the tree-filled lot, which also features several structures. Earth-moving equipment also has been brought to the site.

Fulton County records list Worley as the owner since September of 2013 of the three-acre property in the 10600 block of County Road 6 about six miles southwest of Metamora, which is about 12 miles west of Toledo.

Throughout the day, various vehicles pulled into and out of the property, including an American Red Cross vehicle and several operated by BCI.

Worley appeared by video in Fulton County this afternoon on a charge of abduction.

He was taken today to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio. The complaint filed in Fulton County Eastern District Court states that Worley “without privilege to do so, did knowingly by force or threat, remove another from the place where she was found.” The charge is a third-degree felony.

Worley was arraigned by video at 1:15 p.m. today in Wauseon at the Fulton County Western District Court before Judge Jeffrey Robinson. The case belongs to the Eastern District Court, but the judge in that district is not in today, court officials said.

The suspect, in requesting a court-appointed attorney, said he made $1,000 last year. He then requested an attorney, Mark Powers of Wauseon, who has represented Worley in the past.  

“I need to speak to someone that I know and trust. I don’t know of a more honest person,” Worley told the judge.

An associate who answered the phone at Mr. Powers’ office said today that he hadn’t been contacted about the case and he had no comment.

The judge ordered that Worley be held without bond pending another hearing on July 27. The court will appoint an attorney to the case. If convicted, he faces a up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

In 2000, Worley pleaded guilty to illegal manufacture or cultivation of marijuana and having weapons while under disability, both felonies. He was sentenced by Fulton County Common Pleas Judge James Barber to two years in prison.

He entered prison again, in October of 2000, on those convictions. Worley left in September, 2002, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Ms. Joughin, a University of Toledo student studying human resource management, was last seen at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday on a purple bicycle near Evergreen High School. The bike was later found on County Road 6 around midnight, about an hour after Ms. Joughin’s mother called to file a missing person report, Sheriff Roy Miller said.

Officials observed some type of disturbance around the bike, which was three to four rows deep into the cornfield, Sheriff Miller said. The corn around the bike had been trampled.

For days, search crews have been looking for the missing woman. Paul Bishop, a family spokesman, said a reward for information leading to finding Ms. Joughin has been increased to $100,000.

Deputy Justin Galbraith, after conducting a volunteer search with around 50 people, said the sheriff's department and friends and family of Ms. Joughin have continued to search on foot today.

"We're just conducting a grid search to see if we can find anything that looks odd," he said, as he stood on the side of County Road 6 near County Road T and the Joughin household.

UT President Sharon Gaber sent an email to students, staff, and faculty today expressing support.

“It is in times like these that our campus community comes together to support each other. Please keep Sierah and her loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” she wrote.

In the nearby Delta area, several cars featured missing posters with Ms. Joughin’s photograph and a business sign urged passersby to pray for her.

First Published July 22, 2016, 3:43 p.m.