Another name has been added to the troubling list of missing women in Southern Ohio. From long-unsolved disappearances to ongoing human trafficking investigations, the region has seen a disturbing pattern that continues to haunt families and communities.
On September 10, 2025, the body of 33-year-old Caterina Mooney was discovered in a wooded area off Gallia Street in the Village of Crown City. Mooney had last spoken to her family on August 25 before being reported missing to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office on August 30. At the time she vanished, she had dyed her hair blue.
Call for Public Assistance
The Gallia County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone who saw Caterina during late August or early September to come forward. Investigators are also asking residents and businesses in Rome Township (Lawrence County) and Crown City (Gallia County) to review security footage from that time period for any possible sightings.
Anyone with information should call the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 740-446-6555. Callers are asked to leave their name and a reliable contact number for detectives to follow up.
A Wider Pattern in Southern Ohio
Mooney’s case echoes other unsolved or ongoing investigations in the region:
Scioto County Remains Investigation (2025): Earlier this year, law enforcement agencies began excavating along Pine Creek Road after receiving a tip that possible human remains could be tied to missing persons cases going back decades.
Chillicothe Missing Women (2014–2015): In Ross County, at least six women vanished within a year, and four were later found dead. The disappearances gained national attention, raising fears of a serial predator and exposing how addiction and sex trafficking made women in the region especially vulnerable. The cases remain unsolved, with some believed to be linked to drug and trafficking networks.
Megan Lancaster, Wheelersburg (2013): Missing since 2013, her disappearance was later linked by the FBI to a larger criminal organization.
The Mike Mearan Investigation (Portsmouth, 2020): Former Portsmouth attorney and city councilman Mike Mearan was arrested in 2020 after decades of rumors and allegations tying him to sex trafficking in Scioto County. He was indicted on charges of human trafficking and compelling prostitution, accused of targeting vulnerable women—many struggling with addiction—and coercing them into sex work. The FBI, Ohio BCI, and local law enforcement were involved in that probe, which exposed a broader network of exploitation in the region. Mearan died in 2021 before facing trial, but law enforcement emphasized that their trafficking investigations did not end with him.
Authorities stress that solving cases like Caterina’s requires community vigilance. Even small details or overlooked footage may help bring answers—not only for her family, but for others still waiting for justice.
If you have information, contact the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 740-446-6555.
