While he is awaiting several answers from state and federal investigators concerning the discovery of a Martins Ferry couple, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla confirmed this weekend that no foul play was involved with the disappearance of the couple more than three years ago.
Brian Goff, 66, and 55-year-old Joni Davis were discovered by an Illinois-based diving team inside Goff’s light blue 1990 Oldsmobile Delta 88 on Nov. 11 about 1.5 mile north of the Rayland Marina. The vehicle was submerged in 8 feet of water about 15 feet off the shoreline, according to what the divers reported to local media. Investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal and Federal Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff said, continue to investigate the causes of death.
The man and woman were last seen leaving Pizza Hut in St. Clairsville on June 18, 2018. Goff was Davis’ caregiver after the female suffered a traumatic brain injury a number of years ago. While neither Abdalla nor Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas knows how the couple ended up in the Ohio River, it appears at this point to be accidental.
“The main thing is all of this was that there was no foul play,” Abdalla said. “That’s the main thing. No foul play. Thank God for that. But at this point, we are assuming and guessing how they ended up in the river. BCI and the FBI are still investigating a number of different things, so maybe we’ll know more in the future.”
Abdalla, however, is uncertain what investigators will determine because no one reported witnessing the vehicle’s plunge into the Ohio River. The sheriff, though, did reveal specifics on the condition of the Oldsmobile.
“How did they end up in the river? That’s one thing we are still trying to determine,” Abdalla reported. “When they pulled the car out, the left tire was turned way to the left and the right tire was turned way to the right. It appeared as if the ball joints broke.
“Did that happen when they were pulling the car out of the river, or did something on the car fail that made them pull into the direction of the air river? That’s what the investigators are trying to figure out,” he continued. “There is the possibility of that, but that’s something we don’t know right now. We never know.”
The Search
During the 3.5 years Goff and Davis were missing, the sheriff’s offices in Jefferson and Belmont counties offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of the missing couple. Both law enforcement agencies conducted aerial surveillance and surface searches with trained canines since Summer 2018.
Martins Ferry Councilman Jack Regis followed the case closely with the hope the two individuals would reappear with an incredible story to tell.
“The area where they went down the bank is a little north of the Rayland Marina, and when I looked down there I just couldn’t imagine what went so wrong. They had to be horrified,” Regis said. “I really was hoping that they would just show up one day with a story about something that had happened. It wouldn’t have been the first time that something like that took place around here.
“Who knows? One of them could have had a health problem at that time. Nobody knows that answer, and we’ll never know,” he said. “It’s just a shame, but at least the families got closure finally. I know they were struggling just like any family would have in that situation.”
Regis recently visited the area where the divers discovered the submerged vehicle.
“My wife and I just rode by that area where they went into the river and, I looked out over that hill and just thought to myself, ‘How in the world did they end up down there?’ But knowing that Fred Abdalla is on the case makes me feel confident that, if there is any more information to find out, he wouldn’t let the case rest,” he said. “He’s one of the best sheriffs in this area, so I know he would hound it until the end. If he’s happy with it, I feel good with his conclusion.”
