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WV Teen’s Body Found In Ohio, Man Arrested

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Update 4:03 p.m. Charges were filed in Meigs County Tuesday morning against a man for the death of a West Virginia teenager who had gone missing in early August.

Ernest M. Roach, 36, of Racine, Ohio, was taken into custody on federal charges after West Virginia police discovered that Erika Brown, 16, had been in contact with him. He had transported her to Ohio from Charleston, West Virginia.

Several investigative entities were involved in the search for Brown, who was reported missing by her family Aug. 10. The United States Marshal Service became involved with the investigation because a minor was transferred across state lines.

Kanahwa County Sheriff's Office reached out to Meigs County Sheriff's Office Aug. 27. Roach is in custody of the U.S. Marshal Service in South Central Regional Jail in West Virginia.

According to Meigs County Sheriff Keith O. Wood, Brown's body was discovered by jet skiers this past weekend in the Ohio River in Portland, Ohio. The autopsy and identification of her body were completed yesterday.


An Ohio man has been arrested in connection with the death of a West Virginia teenager.

Police tell media outlets that a body found in Meigs County, Ohio, has been identified as that of 16-year-old Erika Brown of Cross Lanes, West Virginia. Brown was reported missing Aug. 10.

Meigs County Sheriff Keith O. Wood says an Ohio trooper arrested 36-year-old Ernest M. Roach of Racine, Ohio, on Saturday on a federal warrant obtained by authorities in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Roach is being held at the South Central Regional Jail in West Virginia.

Campers found Brown's body on Saturday along the banks of the Ohio River in Portland, Ohio.

Wood says Roach will face a murder charge in Ohio.