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Darke County
kidnapping/abduction charged against two
By Lyn Bliss, Senior Scribes
www.darkecountyseniors.us
“We have been experiencing about one to two kidnappings or abductions a
year in Darke County.” said Detective Sergeant Mike Burns of the Darke
County Sheriff’s Office.
One of those was the recent kidnapping/abduction of Elmer Diaz Ramirez,
27, of Sidney. According to reports given, Ramirez was abducted in
Darke County while supposedly on a trip from Union City to Sidney.
Ramirez was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle headed toward Sidney
when problems caused the vehicle’s driver to pull over. At that point,
Ramirez supposedly got out of the vehicle ─ after that he was
reportedly abducted by two men who have subsequently been charged with
kidnapping and/or abduction.
One of the persons in the vehicle called authorities reporting that
Ramirez had been taken and that a call for ransom had been received.
Supposedly, the ransom amount requested was very modest.
Upon receipt of the call, the Sheriff’s Special Response Team was
called out and Sheriff’s Deputies searched for Ramirez, who was
eventually found by law enforcement officials wandering in
Ansonia. Ramirez reported that he had been able to escape those
who had been holding him.
Once Ramirez was found, the Sheriff’s department could not receive
immediate call tracing as it was no longer a case of endangerment. They
continued to search for the suspects and gather evidence regarding the
kidnapping/abduction. They were able to apprehend and arrest two
suspects: Stephen Garner and Kerry Foshee. The two have been charged
with kidnapping and abduction.
According to Deb Quigley, who is handling the case for the Darke County
Prosecutor’s Office, the case has currently been through the Darke
County Grand Jury and pre-trial is expected in the next few weeks.
“If convicted, Garner and Foshee could face sentences of three to ten
years for kidnapping or one to five years for abduction. They would be
sentenced under only one charge,” stated Quigley.
According to Burns, there were four to five detectives, the seven to
eight members of the Special Response Team and three or four road teams
involved in the attempts to find Ramirez. Each spent between five and
six hours trying to locate the victim.
Burns has reported that this case was very difficult due to various
circumstances, but that the Sheriff’s Department is very happy with the
final outcome and current status within the Darke County court system.
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