Statement made at a news conference today by Lawrence Hancock, the husband of a Karyn McConnell Hancock, a former Toledo city councilwoman who police said made up a story about being kidnapped when she was missing for three days last week.
"It is with deep regret that we come to you to make a statement that the alleged abduction of Karyn McConnell Hancock over the last few days is not true and in fact did not happen.
"We have learned after speaking with her extensively, that she experienced a meltdown and attempted to handle those matters without the assistance of professional help or others. Karyn elected to leave everything because she felt that she was unable to continue.
"After consulting with her physician, he has recommended that she not appear at the news conference today as she continues to undergo professional treatment.
"Our family extends our deepest apologies to all of you, the police department, the community, the many well wishers, those of you who have prayed for us, and those of you that did so many wonderful things to help us find Karyn. We thank you and request that you pray for us now, as we need it more so than ever before."
Missing attorney case full of odd twists
By CHRISTIAN BOONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/08/07 - http://www.ajc.com/news/
A pregnant Ohio attorney who allegedly had been kidnapped three days earlier turned up unharmed Saturday morning at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Karyn McConnell-Hancock, 35, told detectives two men and a woman grabbed her and stole her car outside a Toledo courthouse Wednesday morning, said Cobb County Sgt. Dana Pierce.
The vehicle, a black Chrysler, was found Saturday afternoon, abandoned on I-20 eastbound about a mile away from where McConnell-Hancock was discovered, authorities said.
While no suspects have been named and motives remain unclear, McConnell-Hancock's husband said his wife recently received two suspicious phone calls, one on the day she was kidnapped.
"They were very, very aggressive in nature," said Lawrence Hancock, a bishop of a Toledo church.
Hancock suspected it may have been a former client of his wife, who is a defense attorney. Or the caller may have been a former client of McConnell-Hancock's father, now a Municipal Court judge in Toledo, the husband said.
"He was very adamant about speaking with my wife," Hancock said. "He'd only give his first name. When you call my house and demand to speak to my wife and don't give your last name or the reason you're calling, I'm not going to let you speak to her."
The second call to the Hancock residence came Wednesday evening. The bishop said he did not know at the time his wife was missing, though he knew something was wrong because she had not picked up their son from school.
"He asked me to have Karyn return his call, but he didn't leave a number," Hancock said. After the man hung up, Hancock redialed the number but received an error message. He said it was later determined the call was made from Maryland using a prepaid cell phone.
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Detroit FBI Help Search
For Pregnant Ohio Woman
http://www.clickondetroit.com/
DETROIT -- The Detroit FBI is assisting the Toledo police in their search
for a missing, pregnant Toledo attorney.
The Detroit police and FBI confirmed to Local 4 they have been searching
in the parking lots and garages at Metro Detroit airport for clues on the
whereabouts of Karyn McConnell-Hancock, 35, but have not found any leads.
Police said McConnell-Hancock's husband reported her missing after she
failed to pickup her son at a day care center on Wednesday. She is six
months pregnant.
McConnell-Hancock's husband said she had received suspicious phone calls
from a former client, who filed a lawsuit against her last week, accusing
her of taking money from him that he was owed him from an accident
settlement.
Toledo police said this is an ongoing investigation. Her husband and
police said they tried calling her cell phone, but it was turned off.
McConnell-Hancock was last seen at her Downtown Toledo law office,
according to police. She had been scheduled to go to a juvenile courthouse
Wednesday morning.
McConnell-Hancock is also a former city councilwoman and her father is a
municipal court judge in Toledo.
McConnell-Hancock was last seen wearing a black and white checkered hat
and a long khaki coat.
Police descried her as 5 feet and 3 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds.
She drives a black Chrysler 300 with Ohio license plate No. DIA-6410.
Anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts is asked to call the
The FBI confirmed December 7th
that they are assisting Toledo police in the search for Ms. Hancock. They
were contacted yesterday, said Scott Wilson, spokesman with the FBI’s
Cleveland office.
"We have been notified by the Toledo police department regarding this
missing attorney and we are assisting them in trying to locate her,"
he said.
"We’ll do whatever we can to locate this woman and see what
happened to her."
The FBI is asked to get involved in missing persons cases because they can
offer assistance if there is a lead that needs to be investigated outside
Ohio, Agent Wilson said, noting that he has no knowledge of any leads in
this investigation at this time.
The U.S. Marshals in Toledo said they have not been contacted to assist in
the search for Ms. Hancock.
