MCSO detective still searching for whereabouts of missing Coitsville woman

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Detective Pat Mondora of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office has received a lot of new information on a Coitsville woman who has been missing since 1981.

But Mondora still does not know the fate of Phyllis Brewer, who was 19 when she went missing in June 1981 after reports said she went for a walk.

In fact, the information has only led to more questions, because there are records of Brewer serving time in Ashtabula County after she was last seen alive. She would be in her 60s now.

Mondora said he received that information from a Cleveland television station which did its own research after Mondora blanketed media in Northeast Ohio with requests for information on Brewer after finding out she had lived with her father in Conneaut her senior year in high school.

Before that, Brewer attended high school at the old North High School in Youngstown, then Chaney, before transferring to Conneaut for her senior year.

Mondora searched the internet for Chaney alumni, but no one could remember her, he said. He posted on a Conneaut High School page for 1978 graduates and someone did answer back that they knew Brewer and Mondora was able to interview that person.

No one knew Brewer was missing until about 10 years ago when authorities wanted to notify her of the death of a family member, only no one could find her.

She is thought to have gone missing in June 1981 after she left her house for a walk but never returned. She was never entered into any missing person or law enforcement databases before it was discovered she was missing.

But Mondora said the television station found a record that Brewer was arrested on March 26, 1982, in Conneaut, and she served three months in detention for her offense. There are no records available from her time in detention, Mondora said, and he also checked with jails and police agencies in nearby Western Pennsylvania, but no records of Brewer could be found. He also could not find a death certificate for Brewer in either state.

He has been able to get DNA from two family members, so if there is ever a lead as to her whereabouts, the DNA can be used to determine her identity.

Mondora said it’s possible when Brewer was initially arrested that her vital information — Social Security number and date of birth — were entered wrong and that’s why her arrest never showed up when a records check was done on her.

Those with information on Brewer are asked to contact Mahoning County Sheriff Detective Patrick Mondora at 330-480-5051 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or Missingkids.org .

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