A 70-year-old Plain Township woman was last seen walking away from her home on Sun Valley Avenue NE around 6 a.m. Thursday, without a phone or a vehicle, according to authorities. Sara Jo Tetreault left in an unknown direction wearing grey pants and a pink shirt, and it is the third time since spring that she has gone missing on foot from the area.
The Stark County Sheriff's Office posted a public appeal Thursday evening describing Tetreault as standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 145 pounds, with brown and gray hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen in the 6800 block of Sun Valley Avenue NE, and deputies are asking anyone with information to call the sheriff's office at (330) 430-3800. The department also asked the public to share its post to help spread the word.
A Pattern of Walkaways
This is not the first time Tetreault has disappeared on foot. She was reported missing on June 24, after leaving the area of Lincoln Way East and Hinderer Avenue SW in neighboring Perry Township, an incident detailed by Jordan Miller News, which reported she was wearing a purple dress and wrapped in a blanket at the time. She was safely located after that search.
Roughly two months before that, on April 17, local law enforcement issued a missing adult alert after Tetreault walked away from her residence on foot, according to WSYX-TV. That report noted she suffers from medical issues that heightened concerns for her safety during the search. Together, the two earlier incidents show a four-month span in which authorities have had to mobilize the public multiple times to bring her home safely.
How Ohio's Statewide Alert System Works
It remains unresolved whether a formal, statewide Endangered Missing Adult Alert was activated for Thursday's disappearance. Under the Ohio Revised Code, that alert can only be triggered if local law enforcement confirms a person is missing, is at least 65 years old or mentally impaired, and faces a credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death, per the Ohio AMBER Alert Advisory Committee. Unlike AMBER Alerts, these notices go out to media and law enforcement without triggering the Emergency Alert System.
The program has a strong track record. In 2022, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation issued 146 Endangered Missing Adult Alerts across 38 counties, and all but one of those individuals were safely located or returned home, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office. The office also runs a toll-free, 24-hour hotline at (855) BCI-OHIO for tips and to help local agencies activate alerts, feeding an online portal connected to the state's law enforcement database that posts missing adult bulletins statewide.
A Suburban Search Area With Cross-Border Ties
Plain Township, where Tetreault was last seen, covers 28.5 square miles in north-central Stark County and had an estimated population of 53,408 as of 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The township borders eight jurisdictions, including Canton, North Canton, Perry Township, and Jackson Township — a geographic detail that matters given that Tetreault's June disappearance occurred just over the line in Perry Township, requiring the kind of cross-jurisdictional coordination common in this corner of Stark County.
Stark County itself is the seventh-most populous county in Ohio, with an estimated 374,712 residents spread across eight cities and 17 townships, per a county community assessment. The Stark County Sheriff's Office provides primary police coverage for unincorporated areas like Plain Township, and it has handled a string of vulnerable-person searches there in recent months.
Recent Searches in the Same Township
In January, the sheriff's office searched for an 81-year-old man with dementia who had disappeared from Glouchester Drive NE in Plain Township, a case Hoodline previously reported. The following month, deputies launched a search for a missing 15-year-old with cerebral palsy who left home on foot without needed medical gear, also in Plain Township. In both cases, authorities relied on public sightings and social media appeals to track people who had left home unaccompanied.
Whether Tetreault's repeated walkaways point to gaps in caretaking arrangements or a need for additional adult protective support is a question community members have raised in response to past law enforcement notices, though it remains unaddressed by officials in connection with Thursday's search. For now, the Stark County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who sees Tetreault or has information on her whereabouts to call (330) 430-3800.
