Woman missing after house fire
Posted: January 11, 2006
By Allyson Bird
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Article Credit
A woman is missing, her house burned and her car damaged and recovered in another county.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is trying to find Dori Ann Myers, 43, of Fort Pierce.
Fire Chief Buddy Emerson said firefighters responded to a fire at Myers' home at 8401 Salerno Road just after 3 a.m. Wednesday. About 30 percent of the home had fire damage, and the rest was damaged by smoke, he said.
The fire appears to be arson, Emerson said, as it has multiple points of origin and is suspected to have been started with a flammable liquid.
Emerson said witnesses reported seeing Myers' car leaving the house around the time the fire started.
The car, a 1998 black Toyota four-door, was found in Glades County at a public boat ramp, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office officials said. Emerson said the car, found at 5 a.m., was also burned.
A dog died in the house fire, which Emerson called "a little bit of a mystery." He said the investigation will determine whether Myers had anything to do with the fire.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said no one else lives at Myers' address and that Myers is being treated as a missing person right now.
He said Myers' ex-boyfriend, a truck driver from out of state, was the last person to hear from her when he spoke with her yesterday.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-273-TIPS.
Sheriff: Owner of fire-damaged Lakewood Park house was kidnapped
January 12, 2006
By TYLER TREADWAY - Article Credit
FORT PIERCE - Authorities believe a woman who disappeared Wednesday morning was abducted as fire seriously damaged her Lakewood Park home.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is searching for Dori Ann Myers, 44, of 8401 Salerno Road, whose black 1998 Toyota sedan was seen leaving the house as the fire began and later was found burned near a public boat ramp in Glades County.
"We're extremely concerned about Mrs. Myers' well-being," said St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara, "and we are using every means possible to uncover any clues to find Mrs. Myers. We are calling on the assistance of anyone who may have come into contact with Mrs. Myers or had seen her vehicle between St. Lucie County and Glades County."
Deputies are looking for a white man wearing a baseball cap and another with a dark complexion seen with Myers the evening before the fire as "subjects of interest." Officials suspect the fire at Myers' home was set, fire spokesman Chief Buddy Emerson said, because the fire had several points of origin. Officials also found a flammable liquid that could have been used to spread the flames.
Deputies are looking for a white man wearing a baseball cap and another with a dark complexion seen with Myers the evening before the fire as "subjects of interest."
Investigators believe Myers' home and car were burned to cover up possible clues.
No injuries were reported in the fire, but Myers' dog was in the house and died in the blaze. Fire and smoke damage was estimated at $50,000.
Neighbors said Myers, a hairdresser, lived alone in the house.
Cindi Gamez, a neighbor who called "911" to report the fire, said Myers didn't spend a lot of time at the home because she liked to "party a bit."
Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives Mike Sumner, (772) 370-2711, or Rusty Russell, (772) 216-5016.
Missing Lakewood Park woman's family offers $5,000 reward
January 17, 2006
By TYLER TREADWAY - Article Credit
FORT PIERCE - A week after her mysterious disappearance and the burning of her home, the distraught family of a Lakewood Park woman is offering a $5,000 reward for information about her apparent abduction.
St. Lucie County sheriff's investigators think Dori Ann Myers, 44, of 8401 Salerno Road was taken from her home, possibly by two men authorities also are seeking.
"We've got to get these people," said Donajean Kapp, the missing woman's sister. "We've got to find her. ... She's my baby sister, my only sister, and I just want to bring her home."
Officials with the St. Lucie County Fire District suspect arson because the fire had several points of origin and because a flammable liquid that could have been used to spread the flames was found.
Deputies think Myers was abducted and not a willing participant in setting fire to her home because neighbors heard arguing coming from Myers' residence before the fire started.
Myers' purse was found inside the residence.
Myers was seen with two men on the evening of Jan. 10, at the St. Lucie Inn, a bar at 2102 N. Old Dixie Highway north of Fort Pierce. One man is white and was wearing a baseball cap; the other has a dark complexion that authorities say is either Hispanic or American Indian, but not black.
A police sketch artist has made composite drawings of the two. Kapp said she's contacted "a large network of family and friends," and nobody recognizes the men.
Kapp said hundreds of fliers with Myers' photo and the drawings have been put up in grocery stores, convenience stores, hotels and bars "from Miami to Malabar," south of Melbourne.
Store clerks have been asked to "make sure people look at those pictures," Kapp said. "I want people to look at my sister's face and look at those two men."
Kapp said she's not sure what could have happened to Myers.
"Oh, I've got 10,000 things I think could have happened, but we just don't know," she said. "Everything is purely conjecture. What we need right now is the truth. Any tip, anything that someone might think is inconsequential could be important."
Kapp asked that anyone with information contact St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office detectives Mike Sumner at (772) 370-2711, or Rusty Russell at (772) 216-5016.
Son Rushes To Treasure Coast To Help Find Missing Mom
UPDATED: January 17, 2006 - Article Credit
FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- The son of a woman who is missing after her car and house were torched with fire has arrived in the Treasure Coast to find out what happened to his mother.
"As soon as I got the news, it was around 7. I hit the road, and I was here around 9 o'clock," said Jesse King. "I got to be strong for everybody, until we get to the bottom of this."
A journalism student in Milwaukee, King, who drove about 26 hours straight to get to Fort Pierce, said he has suddenly found himself thrust in the most difficult assignment of his life: finding what happened to his mother, Dori Ann Myers, who has been missing since last week.
"That's why it's crucial these days," King said. "I know it's the holiday, and it's the weekend or whatever, whatever. But we got to get on it. We got to get the reports, the fliers out if not statewide, nationwide."
Detectives believe Myers was abducted after she was spotted with two men at the St. Lucie Inn.
They found her home burned and her car torched and abandoned at a Glades County marina.
"She's actually a very responsible woman," King said.
King said he is desperate to find out what happened to his mother, a hairdresser who loves motorcycles, poker and being surrounded by her family and friends.
"I'm mad. I'm mad. She don't deserve this," he said.
The family is collecting reward money, hoping to entice a tipster with information that will bring Myers home.
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