PORTAGE COUNTY (WAOW) - Portage County officials are releasing more information about the elderly woman who has been missing for nearly 30 years.
Portage County Sheriff's Department Dale O'Kray says authorities have reason to believe 100-year-old Marie Jost may be buried in the backyard of the Amherst home. Investigators have been searching the property using cadaver dogs. O'Kray says the dogs have detected some evidence of human remains. The State Crime Lab is on the scene processing evidence but because the remains are up to 30 years old, the tests may not produce conclusive results.
Three of the woman's family members have been arrested on charges relating to forgery. According to the Portage County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Social Security Administration had asked officers for help in finding Jost and her 74-year-old son Theodore after she didn't answer several letters. Officers went to her Amherst home and found another of Marie's sons, Charles Jost, who told officers his mother and brother Theodore Jost were on a trip.
Neighbors say Charles is the only person they have ever seen living at the residence on Alm Road in Amherst. People who lived next door to him say he mostly kept to himself and they would occasionally see him walking or riding his bike.
After searching that home and another in the Village of Almond, officers arrested Charles Jost. They also arrested Ronald and Delores Disher. Delores is Marie's daughter, according to the Sheriff's Department. All three were booked on charges of forgery or party to the crime of forgery.
According to the Sheriff's Department, "it appears that Marie's Social Security checks had been fraudulently signed and cashed for several years."
The three will appear by video conference in Portage County Court Thursday at 1 p.m.
O'Kray says the family members have not been cooperative with authorities. Each person has been telling a difference story to investigators.
O'Kray anticipates a lengthy investigation because authorities have a lot of evidence to process. He say the home is "like an episode of hoarders" with items packed from floor to ceiling throughout the house.
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PORTAGE COUNTY (WAOW) - The Portage County Sheriff's Department is looking for information on the last known location of a 100-year-old woman and her 74-year-old son.
Three of the woman's family members have now been arrested on charges relating to forgery.
According to the Portage County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Social Security Administration had asked officers for help in finding Marie Jost, 100, after she didn't answer several letters. Officers went to her house in the Town of Amherst and found Marie's son, Charles Jost, who told officers his mother was on a trip with one of her sons, Theodore Jost.
According to the Sheriff's Department, Charles Jost was unwilling to provide any more information.
Neighbors say Charles is the only person they have ever seen living at the residence on Alm Road in Amherst. People who lived next door to him say he mostly kept to himself and they would occasionally see him walking or riding his bike.
After searching that home and another in the Village of Almond, officers arrested Charles Jost. They also arrested Ronald and Delores Disher. Delores is Marie's daughter, according to the Sheriff's Department. All three were booked on charges of forgery or party to the crime of forgery.
According to the Sheriff's Department, "it appears that Marie's Social Security checks had been fraudulently signed and cashed for several years."
The three are set to appear in Portage County Court on Thursday.
If you have any information about Marie Jost or her son, Theodore Jost, call the Portage County Sheriff's Department.
Charles Jost
Delores Disher
Ronald Disher
