March for the missing | Messenger of Columbus

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

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By Sarah Huffman

Editor

Messenger photo by Sarah Huffman
Family members and friends of Andy Chapman, Danny Fout and John Sigman participate in the first Andy Chapman Walk for the Missing, which took place June 8 in Hilltop.

According to the Attorney General's Office, 1,200 people are currently missing in Ohio.

The families of these missing people search for years, often without any clues along the way.

Judy Rafferty said her son, Andy Chapman, disappeared 18 years ago. He was last seen west of Columbus.

Chapman's family organized the first Andy Chapman Walk for the Missing on June 8, which led participants through the Hilltop neighborhood where Andy was last seen. Rafferty created a community for other grieving families and invited them to participate in the walk.

Rafferty said it's a “club that no one wants to belong to,” but together they form a group where the relatability of grief gives strength to their individual research.

Families with missing loved ones filled the sidewalks of Hilltop with the hope that each step would bring them closer to being reunited with their lost family. After the walk, the group spent time connecting over lunch in a space provided by Hillcrest Baptist Church.

“It doesn’t matter what got them into this position,” Rafferty said. “They are human beings and we will never stop looking for them.”

Aimee Chapman, who is Andy Chapman's sister, said her brother loved her young son, who was 3 at the time of his father's disappearance. She said Andy was also a devoted Detroit Lions fan and was always eager to show up at family barbecues.

There is a $4,800 reward for its discovery.

Danny Fout disappeared from west Columbus in 2019 and left behind four daughters, some of whom have since had children of their own. His daughter, Kaitlyn Fout, said that once a month they put up posters around town in hopes that someone would recognize him and give information about his whereabouts.

“I truly believe he would give his shirt off to anyone,” Fout said.

She said she missed the way her father danced to the music that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

The absence of John Sigman is the most recent of the three missing represented at the event. On May 11, he was seen leaving his home in Lore City, Ohio, in a silver 2013 Ford F-150 with license plate HDW 7850. He is a 77-year-old father who leaves behind a daughter in mourning, Shannon West.

“He’s honestly the best person I know,” West said of his father.

She fears that his willingness to help anyone has put him in a threatening situation. Sigman loves taking walks around the lake near his home and having breakfast with his family.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Chapman, Fout or Sigman should contact Columbus police at 614-645-2358 or 614-645-4624.

Andy Chapman