Pike County Sheriff Announces Major Crimes Task Force

Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader is announcing that he has created a major
crimes task force (PCSOMCTF)

The purpose of this Task Force concerns investigating the several cold case
homicides that occurred in Pike County, prior to his taking office. Before and after
my appointment to this position, and since the election, I have had people ask me
what I intended to do about the murders that have occurred in the past? Sheriff
Reader stated that over the past several months, I have been putting together a
Task Force of highly qualified persons who are now working in a joint task force
concerning those cases consisting of at least (6) cold case homicides. Sheriff
Reader is pleased that he has the support of the Pike County Prosecuting Attorney,
Rob Junk and his Special Investigators on this Task Force.
The sheriff further explained that I have partnered with Tiffin University, Center
for Cyber Defense and Forensics under the leadership of Executive Director Scott
Blough. The Center for Cyber Defense and Forensics has analytic capabilities that
support our investigations. On my staff, I have Allen Smith, Ph.D. who served two
terms as the US Marshal of the Southern District of Ohio, who now teaches criminal
intelligence and has taught criminal investigations courses. Dr. Smith has an
extensive background in security related issues.
Yale Skipworth, is a retired Sgt. First Class of the US Army (Ranger), who has
experience as an analyst in the Iraq War, a counter intelligence senior NCO, and
served as an analyst for the State of Ohio Fusion Center, and who later worked with
the DEA as an analyst. Skipworth is currently working on finishing his Ph.D. in
International Security and Intelligence at Southern Mississippi State University. He
has a Masters degree in Intelligence Analysis from American Military University.
Additionally, the Task Force has Brian Reader, a Certified Master Criminal
Investigator, who is the current Chief Investigator for the Pike County Prosecuting
Attorneys Office as well as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff. Also serving on the Task Force
is Jason Savage, a Special Investigator for the Pike County Prosecuting Attorney as
well as a part time Deputy Sheriff. Other investigators have provided assistance to
the Task Force from other agencies, in Ohio, as well as outside the state of Ohio.
This Task Force is presently working on several cold homicide cases and also a case
that was once ruled an accidental death that now due to efforts of the investigative
unit exhuming a body with the involvement of the Pike County Prosecutor and the
Pike County Coroner, has been ruled a murder. Their investigative efforts has
required in state and out of state travel while working with other law enforcement
agencies. We have been working on building relationships with other law
enforcement agencies and cooperating with them on their cases. I am a firm
believer in cooperation and coordination of efforts across jurisdictions. That is why I
decided to form a Task Force and begin seriously looking at solving these old cold
cases, even traveling out of state myself to assist in the investigative efforts as
needed.

I am proud of my deputies who do investigations of serious felonies. They have

been very successful in bringing cases to court and gaining convictions that have
occurred since I became Sheriff of Pike County.

The goal of this Task Force, is to bring justice to the victims families. Many of these
cases are over ten years old. According to Sheriff Reader, I do not care who has
been involved in these murders. My officers are seeking facts and truth. Whoever
is involved as the killer in these cases, or who provided support to the killer or
killers, we are going to seek indictments and work for convictions. Sheriff Reader
states that The days of inadequate follow up on major crimes are over. I am
going to do everything in my power to solve cases and bring past and present
murderers to justice. I am going to need the help of the public to get this done. If
you know anything about a murder, please come forward. Your information will be
held in the strictest confidence. Working together, the Sheriffs Office, Prosecuting
Attorneys Office, the law enforcement community in Pike County, and the public
who lives and works in the county, we can make Pike County a safe place to live and
work.