The Casey Pitzer case centers on the 2013 death of a 32-year-old Wilmington, Ohio mother who vanished after a St. Patrick’s Day night at a local bar and was found a week later in a retention pond. Police ruled it an accidental drowning. Her family, backed by a former detective, a failed retest polygraph, and destroyed forensic evidence, has spent more than a decade arguing that ruling is wrong.
What Happened the Night She Disappeared
On March 17, 2013, Pitzer was drinking at Uncle Louie’s Lounge in Wilmington. When she became intoxicated, her friend Tami McKay asked her boyfriend, Michael Hartley, to arrange a ride. Hartley called Brandon Reed, and the two men picked Pitzer up from the bar.1Local 12. New Evidence Reignites Questions in Casey Pitzer’s Mysterious 2013 Death
Instead of driving her home to Sabina, the men said they took a detour toward Hartley’s house in New Vienna to swap vehicles. Hartley told police the detour was necessary because Reed’s car was low on gas. Reed told police he had put $30 of gas in his car just before meeting Hartley.1Local 12. New Evidence Reignites Questions in Casey Pitzer’s Mysterious 2013 Death
According to both men, Pitzer became upset during the drive and opened the car door while they were traveling about 55 miles per hour on State Route 73. They said she jumped out and ran across all four lanes. A separate witness reported seeing a sedan on the shoulder and a woman in dark clothing standing in the road who then jumped into the median.2Local 12. Suspect Retakes Polygraph in Casey Pitzer Death Case No one has publicly reported seeing her alive after that.
Where Her Body Was Found
Roughly a week later, Pitzer’s body was recovered from a retention pond near the intersection of State Route 73 and US Route 22 in Clinton County, about 100 yards from where Hartley and Reed said she left the vehicle.1Local 12. New Evidence Reignites Questions in Casey Pitzer’s Mysterious 2013 Death To reach the water on her own, she would have had to cross a marshy trench and climb a four-foot barbed-wire fence.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death as drowning, with acute ethanol intoxication a contributing factor.3FOX19. FBI Now Investigating 2013 Death of Casey Pitzer Near Wilmington The Wilmington Police Department classified it as an accidental drowning and closed the case without charges.
Her father, Greg Pitzer, has rejected that conclusion, pointing at the terrain between the road and the pond: “Get up the bank to the fence. Get over the fence. What did she do? Take her shoes off and dive in the water?”4CW Columbus. The Mysterious Death of Casey Pitzer
What Went Wrong With the Investigation
The original investigation was led by Wilmington Police detective Josh Riley. Three problems dominate the family’s complaints.
The Sexual Assault Kit Was Never Tested
During the autopsy, pathologists collected vaginal, anal, and oral swabs along with fingernail clippings. The samples were returned to the Wilmington Police Department but never submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for analysis. Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco told Local 12 that submitting such samples to BCI is “standard procedure.”5Local 12. Untested and Destroyed Evidence: The Mystery of Casey Pitzer
Police also never took DNA samples from Hartley or Reed and never performed a documented forensic analysis of their vehicles. Riley reported searching the car and seeing “no blood, hair, or any obvious sign of a struggle,” but no record of a full forensic examination exists.5Local 12. Untested and Destroyed Evidence: The Mystery of Casey Pitzer
The Evidence Was Destroyed in 2018
Five years after Pitzer’s death, the Wilmington Police Department destroyed the coroner’s swabs along with roughly 2,000 other items from its property room. Former detective Scott Baker, then managing the evidence room, said he requested the purge because the storage space was “bursting at the seams.” Clinton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tim Rudduck signed the destruction order and later said there was “no mention of a rape kit” in the paperwork and that the presence of coroner’s swabs would not have raised a red flag for him.5Local 12. Untested and Destroyed Evidence: The Mystery of Casey Pitzer Casey’s sister Jenn Warnock asked publicly: “Why was her rape kit destroyed? Why did they get rid of her clothes?”4CW Columbus. The Mysterious Death of Casey Pitzer
The Family Was Told the Polygraphs Were Passed
State police administered polygraph exams to both Hartley and Reed. According to later reporting, Reed’s results showed an “indication of deception” and Hartley’s were inconclusive.2Local 12. Suspect Retakes Polygraph in Casey Pitzer Death Case Riley told the family the opposite. Casey’s sister Kelly Pitzer Taylor said Riley told them directly that “both boys passed the lie detector test with flying colors.”1Local 12. New Evidence Reignites Questions in Casey Pitzer’s Mysterious 2013 Death
Riley, now retired, declined to comment when reporters contacted him.1Local 12. New Evidence Reignites Questions in Casey Pitzer’s Mysterious 2013 Death Clinton County Prosecutor Brian Shidaker said that when someone fails a polygraph, he would expect investigators to do further follow-up. Asked whether the handling looked like a “cover-up of epic proportions,” former Wilmington Police detective Scott Baker replied, “Correct. Yes.”4CW Columbus. The Mysterious Death of Casey Pitzer
What Has Changed Since
Greg Pitzer says he has assembled “hundreds of pages of evidence” pointing to someone killing his daughter. A public petition organized by a family friend calling for the case to be reopened grew to nearly 4,000 signatures by 2025.4CW Columbus. The Mysterious Death of Casey Pitzer
BCI Cold Case Review
Under public pressure, Wilmington police referred the case to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Cold Case Unit. In August 2022, the Ohio Attorney General’s office notified the department that BCI had completed its review and “found no additional facts to support an alternative conclusion” beyond the original ruling. BCI declined to reopen the case at the state level but recommended follow-up steps, including a second polygraph for one of the men involved. Wilmington Police Chief Ron Fithen said the department would pursue those steps.6Times-Gazette. Officials Further Investigating Drowning Death
FBI Contact and Hartley’s Failed Retest
By March 2024, the FBI had been contacted about the case.3FOX19. FBI Now Investigating 2013 Death of Casey Pitzer Near Wilmington In May 2025, Michael Hartley agreed to a second polygraph, telling investigators he wanted to “clear his name.” Detective Brandi Carter administered the exam. Hartley failed. A third attempt also produced failing results, with Carter noting a “dramatic change” in his physiological responses. Carter said: “I’m not saying that he killed her. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that he knows something that’s pretty big that he’s not saying.”2Local 12. Suspect Retakes Polygraph in Casey Pitzer Death Case Neither Hartley nor Reed has been charged, and both have declined recent interview requests.
Documentary
In March 2026, Sinclair Broadcasting’s true-crime brand Criminally Obsessed premiered a one-hour documentary, “Dead Silence: The Casey Pitzer Investigation.” It aired on stations in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton and was posted to YouTube, featuring interviews with Greg Pitzer and family advocate Darrell Petrey.7Sinclair Broadcast Group. Dead Silence: The Casey Pitzer Investigation
Where the Case Stands
As of 2026, Casey Pitzer’s death remains officially classified as an accidental drowning. No one has been arrested or charged. The sexual assault kit and other original forensic evidence were destroyed in 2018 and cannot be recovered. Her family continues to push for the case to be reopened.