Article published December 08, 2007
Husband of Toledo lawyer says credit card and luggage are missing
FBI joins search as her family waits
Judge C. Allen McConnell pleads for his daughter's return outside a room set up for a prayer vigil at Genesis Dreamplex.
 MULTIMEDIA: Prayer vigil
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By LAREN WEBER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The husband of a pregnant Toledo lawyer told police when he reported her disappearance Wednesday night that a piece of luggage was missing from their home, according to a police report.
The debit card of Karyn McConnell Hancock, 35, a former Toledo city councilman, was used to make a withdrawal of “several hundred dollars” that night, Lawrence Hancock told police.
He also said that one of his credit cards was missing.
Ms. Hancock, who is six months pregnant, was reported missing about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. She was last seen that morning.
Her car also is missing.
Toledo police Chief Mike Navarre said detectives have interviewed Mr. Hancock numerous times over the telephone and yesterday at police headquarters in downtown Toledo.
“He is the one who reported her missing,” the chief said. “It would only seem natural we would interview him and find as much information as we can.”
Mr. Hancock could not be reached for comment last night.
About 1:30 p.m. yesterday, Toledo police notified law enforcement agencies across the nation of Ms. Hancock’s disappearance through a bulletin sent out by the National Crime Information Center.
Alerts are not usually sent out until an adult has been missing for 72 hours. The nationwide broadcast of Ms. Hancock’s disappearance was made just 39 hours after the initial missing person report.
Capt. Diana Ruiz-Krause, a Toledo police spokesman, said a missing persons alert would be sent across the nation “regardless if there is or isn’t [foul play].”
She declined comment on whether foul play is suspected in Ms. Hancock’s disappearance.
Chief Navarre said the case of Ms. Hancock is not being handled differently because she is the daughter of Toledo Municipal Court Judge C. Allen McConnell or because she is six months pregnant.
“It had to do with circumstances surrounding her disappearance,” he said.
He declined to elaborate.
Judge McConnell, speaking last night at a brief news conference, made a plea to his daughter “if she’s away willingly” to contact the family, and if she is being held that she be returned safely.
“We’re even prepared to forgive if forgiving is necessary,” Judge McConnell said. “Make sure you don’t do any harm to my child.”
He said the family was praying for his daughter.
“Karyn, if you’re out there and hear this,” he said, looking into television cameras, “we’d like to hear from you.”
There were no advance indications to explain the disappearance, he said. “I’ve examined my mind over and over.”
The key to finding his daughter is finding her car, he said. “We need to find that car. It can’t just disappear.”
The judge said no luggage and none of his daughter’s clothing were missing. He said he had no information about money being withdrawn Wednesday from a bank account.
Last night, the Nancy Grace show on CNN Headline News did an eight-minute segment on the missing woman.
“Tonight, there is anguish,” guest host Jane Velez-Mitchell said regarding the feeling in Toledo over the disappearance of Ms. Hancock.
Judge McConnell spoke to Ms. Velez-Mitchell via telephone and asked for anyone who has seen his daughter to call authorities or the First Church of God in Toledo.
Judge McConnell described his daughter as a “very kind person, a very loving mother.”
A legal commentator, who was a guest on the show, speculated that Ms. McConnell could “be gone” because of a lawsuit filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court last week by a former client who claimed she negotiated a settlement for his car crash but never gave him the money.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Hancock represented Maurice Morris of Toledo after he was hurt in a crash in 2004.
The suit said Ms. Hancock negotiated a $10,000 settlement with the insurance company without Mr. Morris’ knowledge.
Mr. Hancock, according to a police report, said he was told by a Fifth Third Bank representative that several hundred dollars had been withdrawn from an account using his wife’s debit card.
Fifth Third representatives confirmed the information to police, according to the report.
Mr. Hancock also said that his Bank of America Master Card was missing, the report said.
When he called the company to inquire about the missing card, he was told a cash withdrawal of $1,000 was made Nov. 14.
Mr. Hancock told police his wife didn’t notify him of the cash withdrawal, the report said.
He also was told the card’s balance was $5,000, but he said his wife had told him the account had been paid off, according to the report.
Mr. Hancock later went to Final Harvest Church, 5444 Airport Hwy., where he is a bishop, to see if his wife had gone there, the report said.
Police said there was no indication his wife had been at the church.
Ms. Hancock last was seen at her office at 316 North Michigan St. about 9 a.m. Wednesday before she left to attend a case at the Lucas County Juvenile Justice Center, police said.
Dan Pompa, juvenile court administrator, said there were no records at the court indicating Ms. Hancock was scheduled to appear for a case that day.
He sent an e-mail to about 30 court employees Thursday upon hearing the news of her disappearance. About 20 people responded, saying they hadn’t seen Ms. Hancock at the court on Wednesday.
About 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Mr. Hancock told police, he received a call from his son’s day care notifying him that his child had not been picked up.
Mr. Hancock told police he has tried repeatedly to contact his wife on her cell phone, but said it has been shut off.
He also checked at her office and said her vehicle was not there.
Mr. Hancock told police that one of his wife’s clients recently has become aggressive toward her and she has been receiving suspicious phone calls.
Chief Navarre said police officers yesterday checked hotel parking lots in Michigan, but he declined to release other details of the search.
The chief said he called the FBI to ask for assistance. He said it’s not uncommon for Toledo police to work with the FBI.
“We’ll do whatever we can to locate this woman and see what happened to her,” said Scott Wilson, a spokesman at the FBI’s Cleveland office.
The FBI is asked to get involved in missing persons cases because it can offer assistance if there is a lead that needs to be investigated outside Ohio, Agent Wilson said, noting that he had no knowledge of any leads in the Hancock investigation.
Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton, after receiving the missing person bulletin about Ms. Hancock, said he directed his deputies to check for her car at state parks, area rest stops, and motel parking lots.
Sheriff Bratton said his office receives about two to three missing persons alerts a week and treats each relatively the same.
Ms. Hancock was appointed to City Council in March, 2003, and was elected later that year. She lost her bid for re-election in November, 2005.
She is described as being about 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds. She drives a black 2005 Chrysler 300 with Ohio license plates DIA 6410.
Several dozen people prayed and sang for Ms. Hancock’s safe return during an hourlong prayer vigil last night — as they had Thursday night — at Genesis Dreamplex Hotel & Conference Center on South Reynolds Road.
Tina Skeldon Wozniak, president of the Lucas County commissioners, was among those attending.
Standing at the front, the Rev. Nathaniel Ligons prayed, “We know you can answer. We know you will answer prayer. We know it is not your will to bring about confusion and hurt.”
“Glory to God!” and “We bless you, Lord,” attendees said. One woman prayed, “In times like this, we need a savior.”
At the Genesis Dreamplex, a room will be open around the clock for those who want to pray. Vigils will be scheduled “one at a time,” said the Rev. Robert Culp, pastor at the First Church of God, 3016 Collingwood Blvd., which operates the hotel and conference center.
“[We’re] confident something good will break … something is going to give soon,” Mr. Culp said.
Staff writers Roberta DeBoer, Meghan Gilbert, Ignazio Messina, and Mark Zaborney contributed to this report.
Contact Laren Weber at:lweber@theblade.comor 419-724-6050.
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