Harrison County Officials: Two Deaths Were Homicide
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Homicide is the cause of death of two women found in Harrison County a little more than two weeks apart, officials announced Thursday.
Law enforcement said, however, that the cases are unrelated.
Within the past month, two bodies were discovered in different parts of the county. The body of 37-year-old Lorie Storie of Zanesville, Ohio, was found in Tappan Lake on Feb. 21 by two fishermen.
On March 6, the body of 40-year-old Sherry Lynn Shrieve of Bellaire was discovered about 1 mile from the Belmont/Harrison county line along the side a rural road in the New Athens area.
Sheriff Joe Myers and Prosecutor T. Owen Beetham held a press conference Thursday and announced that the cases are unrelated. Beetham said they wanted to stop public speculation about the two cases.
"We wanted to quell some of the speculation. These two cases are not related. The victims do not know one another. Neither one are from Harrison County," Beetham said.
Beetham said Storie's case is considered a homicide because her body shows signs of being brutally beaten. Investigators believe she was killed elsewhere, in an unknown location.
Shrieve's case also is being treated as a homicide. Beetham said the victim suffered a bullet wound. So far, the type of weapon used has not been disclosed.
Shrieve was found alongside Harrison County Road 36, High Street Road, New Athens. Officials believe that is the location where the murder occurred.
"It appears to be a geographical happenstance ended up being the place where either bodies were dumped or crimes were committed. Both cases were within a very close proximity to the county border," Beetham said.
Storie's body was located about 3 miles from the Tuscarawas County line. Shrieve was discover about 1 mile from the Belmont County border, he said.
There are persons of interest in both cases, Beetham said. However, officials are not yet releasing the names of those individuals.
"Law enforcement has been working around the clock and utilizing all the necessary resources to solve these cases," he added.