Remains identified as those of Warren woman missing nearly 17 years

AUSTINTOWN  A nearly 17-year-old cold case of a missing 55-year-old Warren woman who was last seen near the Austintown Plaza has been solved. 

The Austintown Police Chief of Police, Valorie Delmont, and Detective Shawn Hevener told 21 News that bones discovered last summer in Lake Meander were those of Ericka Thomas, who has been missing since 2008.

"There was a significant amount of work put into this case. The time that the detectives spent out at meander reservoir searching and looking for new evidence and gathering anything that they could," said Delmont. "Involving the coroner's office and the Bureau of Criminal Investigations to help with identifying the remains. We also had the help of some cadaver dogs from a couple different agencies as well as an anthropologist from YSU."

Police were able to identify the remains found as those of Thomas based on a watch found on the deceased, DNA tests, plus measuring the lengths of the bones, which match a profile developed for the victim. 

Thomas went missing on October 18, 2008. A recovered watch had a date of manufacture of 2007, which was one year before Thomas's disappearance, and matched the type of watch Thomas wore. 

The Warren Police report, filed on October 20, 2008, states that Thomas was last seen on the west end of the township, near North Jackson, after suffering a mental health crisis. 

The family of Ericka Thomas also spent years looking for her after she went missing.

The investigation conducted by the police department and APD detectives eventually went cold. 

Erika Thomas went missing in Oct. 2008 The Charley Project

According to The Charley Project website, Thomas had called for a tow truck, saying that her car had a flat tire outside of Orwell in Trumbull County and she didn't have a spare tire. 

Case notes in the case show that the victim's mother did provide a DNA sample in 2012 to be compared if remains were located. The remains were transferred to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation labs by the Mahoning County Coroner's Office for additional testing.

The Austintown Police told 21 News there were no signs of trauma located on the skull or the other bones, and no clothing other than the watch, which belonged to the victim, was located. 

APD was not able to determine how Thomas ended up in the lake. 

The bones were discovered in the fall of 2024 when the water levels in Meander were lower. 

Thomas' family has been notified. Delmont said APD wanted to give the family closure after 17 years.

"I’m really proud of our detective division for the work that they put in and I know that they are pleased to be able to give a family closure," said Delmont.

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