BELMONT COUNTY - Law enforcement in Muskingum County, Ohio, recovered the automobile stolen in a car jacking that occurred just outside St. Clairsville Thursday, but the suspect remains at large.
Richland Township Constable Jeff Stephens said the Rev. Theresa Bobot's Buick Lacrosse was found in a restaurant parking lot in Zanesville after it was stolen Thursday morning on Barton Road. Her purse was found in a nearby Dumpster, he added.
Bobot, 63, of Belmont had just pulled into her daughter's driveway when a man who was acting strangely entered her vehicle. Witnesses reported the man was screaming that someone was coming to get him. Bobot exited the vehicle, and the man got behind the steering wheel. He began to drive away and Bobot reached for the car, fell and was dragged an unknown distance.
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Belmont United Methodist Church will hold services as usual on Sunday, despite the fact that its pastor, the Rev. Theresa Bobot, is hospitalized. Bobot was injured during a car jacking on Barton Road near St. Clairsville this week.
Cumberland Trail Fire District emergency personnel transported Bobot to Wheeling Hospital. She was listed in stable condition Friday, according to hospital spokesman Gregg Warren.
The Muskingum County Sheriff's Department now has possession of the vehicle, and it will remain there until it can be processed for fingerprints.
The FBI has joined in the search for the suspect, Stephens said. Authorities are looking for a white male in his 20s to early 30s, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. Anyone who has seen an individual matching that description is encouraged to call the Belmont County 911 dispatch center at 740-699-0429 or Richland Township police at 740-695-9543.
"I want to get this guy off the street and bring some justice to (Bobot's) family," Stephens said Friday. "I want him off the street before he does this to somebody else."
Bobot is the minister at Belmont United Methodist Church. Church member Donna Britton said lay speakers are available to fill in for Bobot and Sunday services will take place as usual this week.
