News
Police Have Reason To Believe Missing Man May Have Been Suicidal
By: Joe Higgins | Athens Messenger
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It's been two weeks since Samuel Wiater was reported missing. There has still been no sign of Wiater and police suspect that he may have left with the intention of committing suicide.
It is believed that Wiater, 21, left his North Lancaster Street home on March 13. His mother, Trina, reported to police that her son was missing and endangered. A search conducted by a number of emergency response agencies ensued but Wiater has yet to be located.
The case is listed as Athens County Crime Solvers Anyonymous' April Crimes of the Month.
In the news release, it states that, "Based on conversations between Samuel and his girlfriend and Samuel and his mother, there was a suspicion that he was going to commit suicide in the Hocking River."
Wiater's car was located near the Hocking River, parked by the bike path on Currier Street. Officials searched in and around the river with no success. Infrared technology showed no signs that Wiater was in the river. Dive teams also used sonar and could not find him.
Meanwhile, Trina Wiater holds onto hope that her son is alive. She recently told The Messenger that Wiater's girlfriend had discovered a poem in her apartment left by Wiater.
"It wasn't 100 percent forthright but she read a lot into it. Basically what she took from it was that he was OK and trying to get his life in order," Wiater said of the poem.
Police are still treating the incident as a missing person's case and the poem may or may not have any significance to the matter.
"We have no new credible information at this time," Athens City Police Chief Tom Pyle told The Messenger earlier this week.
Wiater is described as a white male standing 6-1 and weighing 175 pounds. He has a thin build with reddish-brown hair and hazel/green eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, black tennis shoes and a blue baja hoodie.
Anyone with information as to Wiater's whereabouts is asked to call the Athens Police Department at 593-6606.