WJW
Body Bags Taken from Backyard of Sowell's Home
Staff Writer
4:20 PM EST, November 3, 2009
CLEVELAND
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Cleveland Police have called a 6:00 p.m. press conference to update the latest information into the investigation of Anthony Sowell.
Fox 8 News crews stationed outside Sowell's Imperial Avenue home report two body bags were taken from the backyard of the home on Tuesday by officials from the Cuyahoga County coroner's office.
Throughout the day cadaver dogs walked the backyard searching for any additional remains of potential victims.
Cleveland Police have set up an investigation tent in the backyard of the home, and according to authorities, police plan on remaining at the home for the rest of the night.
According to Fox 8 News crews on the scene, a backhoe was used to dig up portions of the yard.
Authorities also were searching vacant homes within a few miles of the home, which sits in a crowded inner-city neighborhood of mostly older houses.
Police did not say Tuesday why they were searching the vacant homes or indicate whether they believe more bodies could be found.
Neighbors are bracing for what could be inside a boarded-up home across the street and a shuttered school a block away.
"We hope they don't find anymore," said Renee Cash, whose family operates Ray's Sausage, which sits next door to Sowell's home.
Hundreds of Clevelanders gathered outside the Sowell home on Monday night for a candlelight vigil for the six women whose remains were found in and around the house.
The image of families holding up pictures of women who have vanished since Sowell was released from prison in 2005 was haunting.
One tearful woman told the crowd, "I believe my mother is going to be one of these women that's missing. She went missing from 118th and Kinsman, right around the corner."
Relatives of Nancy Cobbs -- who disappeared last April -- are asking questions only Anthony Sowell can answer.
Her daughter, Kyana Hunt, asks, "Why? What did she do to make him do this? Any of them, what did any of them do to deserve this?"
Like all of the families, relatives of Gloria Walker -- who disappeared in April 2007 -- are hoping against hope that she was not one of the victims.
Sandy Drain says, "It's been horrible for the entire family. We really would like to have closure and we still pray that she's alive, but we're still looking for closure."
Michelle Mason disappeared a year ago and was last seen just a block from Anthony Sowell's house.
Her son, Franklin Williams, says, "I've been going back and forth. I think of it as closure ... if it might be, if it does happen. But then, it's like still again, I want her to be found and I still want her to be here."
Telacia Fortson, 31, vanished in May, leaving three young children without their mother.
Fortson's mother, Inez Fortson, tells Fox 8 News, "The last time I saw her, she kissed me on the forehead and said 'I'll be here next week,' and I said 'OK,' but I never heard from her again."
Janice Webb has been missing since June, and her family fears that she came into the clutches of Anthony Sowell while walking through the neighborhood on a warm summer night.
Her sister, Joanne Moore, says, "He doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned, he does not exist. Anybody that's that evil. He is evil."
The families are now waiting for testing by the Cuyahoga County coroner that will tell them if their loved ones are among the victims.
Police are also looking into similar unsolved murders while asking the public for help. So far, four families of missing women have submitted DNA samples to help the coroner identify the bodies.
Authorities confirmed Monday that they'd be seeking DNA samples from Sowell as well.
Sowell is in jail but has not been charged.
Police are still encouraging people in the area to report missing persons to the police department's Fourth District in order to help them identify the six victims. Authorities urge anyone who might know of a missing person in the area, to please call their command post at (216) 310-4366 or (216) 310-4370.
Stick with Fox 8 News and FOX8.com for the latest updates on this story.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright © 2009, WJW-TV
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I guess the FBI needs to update its criminal profile for serial killers.
