Pregnant Toledo Attorney Goes Missing
Husband Tells Police a Client Recently
Began Acting Aggressively Toward the Woman
In a police report obtained by ABC News' Toledo affiliate WTVG,
Lawrence Hancock said that he repeatedly tried to reach his
wife Wednesday after she failed to pick up their son from day
care, but the pregnant woman's cell phone was turned off. (ABC)
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Dec. 7, 2007
The search for a missing Ohio attorney who is six months pregnant is intensifying.
Karyn McConnell-Hancock, a 35-year-old former member of the Toledo City Council, was reported missing by her husband Wednesday after she failed to pick up their son at day care.
She was last seen leaving her downtown Toledo, Ohio, law office around 9 a.m. Wednesday for a case at the juvenile detention center, according to the Toledo Police Department report.
In the report, obtained by ABC News' Toledo affiliate WTVG, Lawrence Hancock told police that he repeatedly tried to reach his wife, but her cell phone was shut off. Hancock checked her law office and neither his wife nor her car, a 2005 Chrysler 300, were there.
Hancock also told police that his wife has a client who has recently been aggressive toward her, according to the report. McConnell-Hancock reportedly had been getting suspicious phone calls.
Police are saying very little publicly about the missing person's case and have not yet said they suspect foul play.
About a week ago, McConnell-Hancock was sued for $50,000 in a Lucas County court by a former client who claimed that she negotiated a settlement for his car crash but never gave him the money, The Toledo Blade reported.
Maurice Morris, also of Toledo, charged his former attorney with negotiating a settlement after his 2004 car crash for $10,000 without his knowledge. Morris claimed in the suit that McConnell-Hancock forged documents to collect the money.
It is not clear whether Morris is the same client Hancock was referring to in his report to police.
A prayer vigil was held last night for McConnell-Hancock and according to the Blade, the FBI's Cleveland office and U.S. Marshals office were asked to join the investigation today.
McConnell-Hancock was appointed to the Toledo City Council in March 2003 and elected later that year. She lost a re-election bid in 2005.
Lawrence Hancock, who could not be reached for comment by ABC News, is listed online as the bishop of the Final Harvest Church International. McConnell-Hancock is listed as the church's first lady.
A bio of McConnell-Hancock posted on the site lists academic degrees from Miami University and Case Western Reserve, both in Ohio. Since 2000, she has been the owner of and sole practitioner at a criminal defense and civil litigation law office.
McConnell-Hancock is active in the Toledo area, serving on various boards and professional associations in addition to her public service as a member of the city council.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3969645&page=1
