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LARGO — Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies are digging in Largo for the remains of a woman who went missing in the 1980s, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.
Retha Hiers disappeared in 1982 at the age of 46. Authorities possibly killed her through the same man who was suspected in the disappearance of two other women in Pinellas County: Margaret Dash, who disappeared in 1974, and Donyelle Johnson, who disappeared in 1989.
The suspect in all 3 cases is a guy named Cleveland Hill, who died in 2018 in his fifties. Hill was an asphalt contractor who had in the past worked as a minister.
According to an archived 1993 Tampa Tribune record, Hill had also been branded an attack with intent to commit murder. Authorities said that 4 days after his wife filed for divorce in 1968, he shot her and her mother-in-law. Both women survived. He convicted him of a lower attack rate and sentenced him to five years of probation, which he violated, and sent him to criminal about a year after conviction. He was released on parole in 1971.
Hill also served 19 years on federal drug criminal charges and was released in 2008.
The 3 missing were dating Hill when they disappeared, according to Dana Hiers, Retha Hiers’ daughter. However, Hill had denied any romantic relationship with The Array according to the 1993 Tribune article.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Hill remained a suspect during the investigation, but the government was never able to gather enough evidence for Hill to face charges. Even on his deathbed, Hill refused to answer investigators’ questions, Gualtieri said.
Excavations take position at 1201 Gooden Crossing in Largo, a vacant lot near St. John. Mary, facing Pinellas Trail. Se expected detectives to arrive Wednesday and Thursday.
Dana Hiers, now 54, described her mother as a “gun” who enjoyed fast cars and cooking. Retha Hiers disappeared on December 28, 1982, after leaving home to buy clothes and bleach.
The last time she saw her mom that day, Dana Hiers in the back of a van saying goodbye. He went with his father, siblings and a friend to buy motorcycles, which were Christmas gifts for the family, while his mom stayed home.
Dana Hiers recalled her father asking her if her mother would be home when they returned. Retha Hiers, who was having an affair with Hill at the time, said yes.
“He was at the back door, waving at us, telling us he enjoyed us and said goodbye,” Dana Hiers told the Tampa Bay Times at the excavation site Wednesday. “It’s the last one I can do at the age of 14. “
Janie Smith, Donyelle Johnson’s aunt, also arrived at the excavation site on Wednesday. He said Johnson was in his early twenties and was in school when he disappeared. He disappeared on the way to school. Her car was discovered near Belcher Road and East Bay Drive after an anonymous person reported it when she disappeared.
Smith remembered Johnson as a young and intelligent woman.
“When I had my kids, she was there for me,” Smith said. “I miss her so much. “
Smith and Dana Hiers were grateful that the sheriff’s office is still investigating the disappearances. Hiers said she was very happy to be informed that the sheriff’s office had returned to search for her mother’s body, adding that the government had searched unsuccessfully elsewhere in the past. on site in 1993.
If he finds his mother, it will bring him peace, he said.
“Despite everything, I can put her to rest,” Dana Hiers said. “I can put it in a suitable place. She wants to be in a suitable place. On the ground, anywhere, it’s not a smart place.