COLUMBUS -- A man said on Wednesday that he interviewed for a farm job posted on Craigslist that authorities believe was used to lure people into a deadly robbery scheme.
Ron Stanson of Stow, in suburban Akron, identified the interviewer as one of two people who are in custody.
Investigators have said one man lured to the nonexistent job was found dead last week. A second job seeker reported that he escaped after being shot on Nov. 6. The FBI said Tuesday that a third man is missing.
The adult whom Sanson identified as his interviewer -- 52-year-old Richard Beasley of Akron -- remained in jail yesterday on unrelated charges and couldn't be reached for comment.
Sanson said he responded to the ad and met the interviewer Oct. 10 in a shopping mall's food court outside Akron. Sanson was told the interviewer was looking for an older, single or divorced person to watch over a 688-acre farm in southeast Ohio -- the kind of man, Sanson says, whose disappearance might not be quickly noticed.
Sanson, 58, and the missing man, 47-year-old Timothy Kern, of Massillon, both are divorced. The other victims also were divorced -- David Paule, 51, of Norfolk, Va., who was fatally shot in his head in Noble County in southeastern Ohio; and a South Carolina man, who reported he was shot and injured before he escaped.
Law enforcement officials, who initially said the dead victim was from Florida, have released few details because of a judge's gag order. The Noble County sheriff previously said it was unclear how long the ad was online or whether there were other victims.
A high school student from the Akron area has been charged with attempted murder. Although his name appears in court documents, The Associated Press generally does not report the names of minors charged with crimes.
