CELINA— Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey today announced that his office received a call to the area of 6213 Sebastian Rd in Franklin Township. The caller, a farmer doing field work, reported that he located a body in his field. Deputies and Detectives responded to the area, which is approximately 1135 feet east, southeast of where the vehicle of Robert W Hageman (78), the missing adult male from Beavercreek, OH, was previously located on US RTE 127 on January 31, 2023.
The on scene investigation confirmed the body to be that of Mr. Hageman. Contact was made with the Beavercreek Police Department, as both agencies have been continuously working together in the search for Hageman. Mercer County Coroner Timothy Heinrichs was also contacted.
Robert Hageman was reported missing on January 30, 2023 at 8:08 PM to the Beavercreek Police Department. On January 31st at 11:44 AM his 2005 silver Buick LeSebre was found near the Overdrive venue on US RTE 127 and a deputy responded to the scene. On that same date, a search ensued consisting of Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputies, Celina Police Department Officers, Montezuma Fire Department Volunteers, Coldwater Fire Department Volunteers, and local residents. Several resources were utilized during the search, including ATV’s and UTV’s, drones, a K-9 unit, and a private airplane. Buildings, open fields, creeks/ditches, and wooded areas were searched. Additionally, Contact was made with area hotels and businesses as well as with the hospitals in the surrounding area. These efforts turned up no leads. The initial search concluded around 4:30 PM on January 31st.
On February 1, Mercer County detectives reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Child Abduction Response Team seeking guidance on any additional resources available. The Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation Unit was also contacted and requested to respond to Mercer County to assist us in the on-going search. Additional foot searching of the area continued, checking under bridges, inside culverts and in or under pine trees within a four square mile area of where Hageman’s vehicle was located. The OSHP Aviation Unit as well as patrol troopers assisted for a few hours during the aerial search of the area. Both the aerial search and foot search were unsuccessful in locating Mr Hageman or any leads on this date.
On February 2, detectives met with EquuSearch Midwest, which is a Columbus, Ohio branch of Texas EquuSearch, a volunteer based search and recovery team. Their team deployed and assisted us in searching the area for Hageman as well as making contact again with local businesses in hopes of any leads or sightings of him. Drones were also utilized during this search effort, which was unsuccessful. Deputies also met with the family of Mr Hageman at the Sheriff’s Office that morning.
On February 3, detectives from the Beavercreek Police Department met with detectives at the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office to discuss this case and the on-going joint effort moving forward. On this same date, Mercer County Detectives again went out searching the area.
In the coming days and weeks, after the above searches were completed and unsuccessful, detectives and deputies continued to follow-up on any calls received of possible locations to be checked. Communication between the Beavercreek Police Department and Mercer County Sheriff’s Office detectives continued throughout. Although this is not the outcome we had hoped for, we are thankful that Mr Hageman has been located and hope that this will give his family closure. We appreciated the assistance of all the first responders, local residents and businesses in the area who have put time, effort, and resources in to helping us locate Mr Hageman.
