Katelyn Markham's dad wants Butler Co. to investigate

The father of Katelyn Markham, whose remains were found 20 months after she went missing in August 2011, wants the Butler County Sheriff's Office to take over the death investigation.

The case has been under the wing of Fairfield Police Department for the last four years, but Dave Markham wants that changed.

After dozens of local, state and national searches, Katelyn Markham's skeletal remains were found in April 2013 along Big Cedar Creek in Indiana, about 25 miles from where she disappeared from her home on Dorshire Drive in Fairfield.

Her disappearance and death, which was ruled a homicide, are still under investigation.

At a news conference Friday, Dave Markham asked Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones to take over the investigation.

"Father to father ... I'm asking you to take my daughter's case," Markham pleaded, holding back tears. "I need you, please help me."

Markham said he needs someone who will take his case more seriously and with more aggressive investigating.

He had faith in the Fairfield Police Department when his 21-year-old daughter went missing. That faith is now gone.

"I do not trust or believe that the direction that the Fairfield police took from the very beginning and continues to cling to is going to solve Katelyn's murder," Markham said.

Markham has asked Fairfield to put a new detective on the case. He wants fresh eyes. They told him no.

"I expected more," Markham said. "At this point I am devastated by the knowledge of the missed opportunities."

Markham hired J. Ryan Green, a private investigator from Florida and a former police officer, to assist in the case.

In collaboration with the Indiana State Police, Green obtained evidence that has been available since the time Katelyn went missing, Green said.

"This is not a new discovery," said Tina Darrett, Dave Markham's attorney. "It's something that could've been processed, but wasn't."

The item, which was not identified, is connected to one of Katelyn's friends. It belonged to one of the last two people to see her alive.

Police have previously said Katelyn's fiancé, John Carter, was the last person to see her alive.

It was sold a couple of years ago, but Green and the Indiana State Police tracked down the item and bought it. They made special arrangements for it to be transported as part of a "crime scene" and sent it off to the Indiana state crime lab and later Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation lab for testing.

"If it's the correct DNA, there will be an arrest," said Green. He said he is optimistic a DNA profile will be found.

Darrett said the item was available four years ago.

"A conscious decision was made not to go down that road," she said. "That is the problem for David Markham."

Green commended the efforts of Indiana State Police investigator Vance Patton, but said Patton cannot proceed further because of jurisdiction issues.

"If Katelyn lived in Indiana, this case would be solved," Green said.

He said the reason the case is still unsolved is because of a "lack of effort" by Fairfield police.

"There is a disconnect within the Fairfield Police Department,” Green said, “…with the way they investigate crimes and the way they treat family members of deceased victims.”

According to Green, Markham went two years without receiving updates from Fairfield police - not even a phone call.

It is because of that disconnect that Green, Markham and Markham’s attorney say the case is better off in the hands of Sheriff Jones and his office.

Markham said he had faith that everything that needed to be done was going to be done, but now knows that was not the case.

"I am not asking for miracles," he said, "but I believe a new direction is needed, with a department I can trust."

In a press release on Friday after the news conference, the Fairfield Police Department said they were assisted by several agencies during the investigation in the effort to bring the individual(s) responsible for Katelyn’s death to justice.

"We are open to other law enforcement agencies reviewing the investigation," the release said. "We have spoken with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and BCI. We will try to arrange a meeting with them in the near future."

The Butler County Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment on Friday.