JOHNSTOWN - A large-scale search for missing city resident Kellisue M. Ackernecht is being planned in the Frog Hollow area of the city, where her car was found burned Oct. 1.
Kalley Lee of Fort Plain, one of the chief organizers of the ongoing search for the woman, said today the Johnstown Police Department is "on board" with this upcoming search effort, which is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 28. She said this may be the last citizen-organized search for Ackernecht.
"We welcome the help," Police Chief Gregory Horning said today. He said he understands three cadaver dogs will be used in the search.
"There's actually several people coming," Lee said. "We have people coming from as far away as Minnesota."
She said David Lohr, a crime writer affiliated with cable TV network Investigation Discovery, is expected to help.
In addition, she said, volunteers are being lined up from TrackMissing from Albion, Mich. Lee said she anticipates at least 30 or 40 people from outside the area may assist. Others who want to assist may call Ackernecht's brother, Tom Kilcullen, at (518) 527-3444, or show up in the Frog Hollow area of West Madison Avenue and Chestnut Street on June 28.
Kilcullen said today he's trying to enlist the help of a team of state forest rangers for the June 28 search.
Lee said the search will be followed by a dinner at the Johnstown Eagles Club and a candlelight vigil. She said family members and friends of Kellisue will continue each year to recognize her disappearance on her birthday in December by holding a candlelight vigil in Frog Hollow.
The appearance of Lohr, she said, was initiated by her contact with him previously. Lohr was formerly affiliated with Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, based in Dickinson, Texas. Lee said plans for that group to formally participate in the search did not materialize.
"They're not coming; they pulled out," she said.
She said a previous fundraiser May 4 at Lombardo's Pizzeria in St. Johnsville helped raise $300 toward the search effort, and the money is being maintained in a local bank account.
Lee said that Peck's Lake has donated part of its campground to house searchers, but the family is still hoping three motel rooms will be donated toward the effort. Lee may be reached at (518) 993-8019.
The search for Ackernecht previously has been spread across Fulton and Montgomery counties.
Ackernecht, 37, of 330 W. Main St., was reported missing by her husband, Jayson Ackernecht, in the early morning hours of Oct. 1.
She left her job at Rite Aid in Amsterdam just after 9:30 p.m. Sept. 30, Johnstown police said. Early the next morning, the 1998 Saturn sedan she had been driving was found engulfed in flames in Frog Hollow.
City fire officials have said the vehicle was too badly burned to yield any evidence, but they haven't closed their investigation.
Johnstown police, state police and others have aided in the probe since last fall. The effort included a search by a helicopter in October. The city Police Department has done several foot searches with dogs and forest rangers. Johnstown police and the St. Johnsville Dive Team have combed the banks of the Cayadutta Creek leading to Sammonsville.
Horning said his department, in conjunction with fire officials, also recently conducted two controlled burns on vehicles similar to the Ackernechts' Saturn to learn how the fire may have started.
Johnstown police also have followed unsuccessful leads in the Syracuse area.
Jayson Ackernecht has told The Leader-Herald he had "nothing to do with" his wife's disappearance.
He said he was home when Kellisue didn't return from Rite Aid the night of Sept. 30. He said he went to bed around midnight and later was awoken by Johnstown police, who told him his car was on fire a few blocks away.
Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com
