Police: Warrant Coming for Man Believed to be with Missing Fairmont Woman

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Investigators are seeking a warrant for arrest of an unidentified man who is believed to be with a missing 21-year-old Fairmont woman.

Corporal Isaac Harmon of the West Virginia State Police said Tuesday he will seek a “John Doe Warrant” from a judge to arrest a black man going by the alias “Jeff Cooper.” He is believed to be with Kara Jeffrey, the woman missing since a May 1 visit to Huntington to see Cooper.

Cooper is believed to be armed with two pistols. Harmon said the public should avoid contact and call 911 immediately if they see Cooper.

The search for Kara Jeffrey has also expanded into the Eastern Panhandle. Harmon said that includes the Hedgesville area and greater Eastern Panhandle area, but also includes the Hagerstown, Maryland area and still includes Huntington, West Virginia.

Jeffrey is believed to be in “extreme danger.” Harmon said her undisclosed medical condition remains untreated, and that her association with the man only known as “Jeff Cooper” also puts her at risk. Cooper is believed to have ties to the drug trade in Marion County. He was described as “a current boyfriend” on May 1, but Harmon said investigators don’t know if Jeffrey is with Cooper by her own choice at this time.

“The association is willing, but in times like this the situation can become unwilling really quickly,” he said. “It’s uncertain if that’s the case right now.”

Cpl. Harmon said he also can’t be certain Jeffrey is alive, but investigators are staying the course.

“We’re staying hopeful, but being as no one has had contact with her–we don’t know,” he said. “We can’t answer that with any certainty.”

Harmon said positively identifying Cooper’s actual name has been “sketchy.”

“We’ve received information on similar subjects that resemble him but it’s not yet confirmed what his identity is,” he said.

Anyone with information about Jeffrey’s whereabouts is asked to call Cpl. Isaac Harmon at (304) 290-4002 or Sgt. Sally Hatten at (304) 633-6261.

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