Geauga County elected officials took advantage of a beautiful sunny morning Aug. 29 at the Great Geauga County Fair to extend the community’s thanks to Vern Holden of Omaha, Neb., for his help in solving a decades-old case.
Geauga County elected officials took advantage of a beautiful sunny morning Aug. 29 at the Great Geauga County Fair to extend the community’s thanks to Vern Holden of Omaha, Neb., for his help in solving a decades-old case.
Last year, Holden used his knowledge of genealogy and DNA ancestry websites to help solve the 26-year-old case of Geauga’s Child — a newborn baby left abandoned in the middle of Sidley Road in Thompson Township on a cold night in March, 1993.
Commissioners Tim Lennon and Jim Dvorak presented Holden with a resolution in his honor. Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand and Det. Donald Seamon handed him an Outstanding Civilian Award. And Prosecutor Jim Flaiz presented Holden with a commendation on behalf of his office.
“This is very humbling for me, that you’ve honored me in this manner,” Holden said. “It was really the very, very good work of the sheriff’s department, specifically Det. Seamon, and the county, Geauga, should be very proud of the job that these gentlemen have done for your community.”
Holden’s father-in-law Dave Gilger, of Warren, was the DNA link that allowed Holden, who has charted a 7,000-member family tree using ancestry websites, to assist Seamon. Seamon described the process to commissioners and audience members at the fair.
“In 2018, we were able to submit the DNA of Geauga’s Child to online resources in efforts of identifying both the child and the circumstances around its death,” he said. “The initial results that we received were that the closest match was approximately a third or fourth cousin, who resided in Warren, Ohio.”
Seamon said in February and March of 2018, the sheriff’s office and Flaiz were able to use Holden’s “vast knowledge of genealogy (and) the ancestry sites” to help them identify Gail M. Eastwood-Ritchey, who was arrested in June 2019 on allegations she dumped her one-to-three-day-old child on the road in 1993.
“Mr. Holden, in my opinion, was instrumental to the success of the investigation,” Seamon said.
Along with a commendation from the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office, Flaiz offered profound thanks to Holden for his diligent efforts assisting law enforcement.
“I will tell you that this is a case that I don’t think anybody thought would ever be solved,” Flaiz told Holden.
Dvorak also presented Holden with a resolution honoring him for his assistance in helping solve the case.
Earlier in the meeting, commissioners recognized the Totally Dogs 4-H Club, which Dog Warden Matthew Granito said has raised over $50,000 in 14 years to support the county dog shelter and the sheriff’s K-9 unit.
Commissioners commended Carmella Shale, director of the Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District, for her hard work at the agency, which turned 75 this year.
Shale said over the years, GSWCD has migrated to including storm water runoff management, as well as educational programs to teach children and adults about where their food comes from.
State Rep. Diane Grendell (R-Chester Township) took to the stage, where she asked for commissioners’ support for a bill to help feed veterans.
“We have veterans that don’t have enough money for food and we have a food bank that’s all volunteer,” Grendell said. “And through a glitch in the statehouse, through the legislation, the money can’t be used for the veterans for their food.”
Grendell said she has authored a bill that would close that loophole, and welcomed Sean McCarthy, assistant director at Ohio Department of Veterans Services, to the stage. Although McCarthy, who served in the U.S. Army, said due to his office, he cannot take any position on pending legislation, he expressed gratitude for the care veterans receive around the state.
“It is an extraordinary thing what our county veterans services commissions and service offices do for our veterans,” McCarthy said. “And we’ll do our very best to continue to support that.”
Lennon offered the support of the commissioners, adding their office has been working with the Geauga County Veterans Service Commission to find a new location to serve as the headquarters for services and food distribution.
Cathy Corbitt, deputy director of children’s initiatives at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, also spoke about her position, which was created in April by Gov. Mike DeWine to educate children on where their food comes from.
“(DeWine) recognized that there was a void in the department of agriculture that a position did not focus on nutrition and educating children where their food comes from,” Corbitt said. “Too often children … think food comes from their local grocery store. In fact, actually, the adults do, too.”
Corbitt, who grew up on a dairy farm in southern Ohio, said her role is to bridge the gap between the agricultural community and education.
