TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo police are working to find a missing man last heard from in January, whose absence is alarming his family. Toledo police also said that a car registered to the missing man is in police custody, having been recovered during a Jan. 22 traffic stop from which its driver fled.
According to a police report, Daniel Wiggins Jr., 23, called his fiance in the early hours of the morning on Jan. 22. He reportedly frantically told her that people were chasing him and he needed a ride from the 1100 block of Walbridge.
His fiancée told police she talked with Wiggins Jr. for about 10 minutes and was going to pick him up when his phone abruptly cut off. She later told detectives that she never planned on picking him up because she was sleeping.
She tells investigators she has not heard from him since and he has not been active on his social media accounts, which is out of character for him.
After investigating further, police found out that after Wiggins hung up with his fiance, he called the mother of his children and told her he was running from the police and trying to get to her house on Wright Ave. It is unclear if Fields ever made it there.
Detectives worked closely with Wiggins' family and spoke to them numerous times over the course of the investigation. Police say Wiggins' father said early in the investigation that he was not too concerned with his son's disappearance, and believed Wiggins did not want to be in jail on his birthday, Feb. 4.
A timeline of the police investigation goes as follows:
- Jan. 23-24: The Swan Creek bank was searched by Toledo Police - nothing was found.
- Jan. 28: Ohio Lost and Missing People shared Wiggins' Missing Person photo on social media.
- Jan. 30: TPD K9s worked the creek bank in the area of Swan Creek where it's possible that Wiggins ran. Again there was no trace of him.
- Feb. 10: Member of the Toledo Police Detective Bureau met with Wiggins' mother and grandfather. Different people in Wiggins' life were providing different accounts of his activities. Because of this, police worked closely with his biological family. Wiggins' mother and grandfather conveyed that Wiggins owed people money and potential leads were investigated.
- Feb. 14: Police went to the riverbank again to check the area for Wiggins - nothing was found.
- Feb. 17: A woman who worked with Wiggins' mother and the woman's boyfriend reported to police that she received a text from an unknown number stating that Daniel had been kidnapped. The message demanded $9,000 in order for Wiggins' safe release and that if police were called, Wiggins would die. Detectives found the number came from a Nigerian phone application. There was no further communication from that number. Wiggins poster was displayed on Missing People in America.
- March 2: Police spoke with Wiggins' mother again. There were no updates and no new leads.
- April 4: Drones were displayed over the area to check for any findings over the creek. Again, nothing was discovered.
- June: Police are working with Wiggins' sister in regards to telephone data from the night Wiggins called his fiance and the mother of his children. The river bank was searched multiple times by TPD and Wiggins' family and loved ones.
The missing man’s aunt reached out to WTOL 11 and sent a picture of Wiggins Jr. and his Ford Fusion, which she says has also been missing.
Toledo police shared with WTOL 11 another police report that involves Wiggins' missing car. According to the report, officers conducted a traffic stop on Jan. 22 that involved a silver 2006 Ford Fusion, registered to Wiggins. Police said the traffic stop was initiated because Wiggins had a felonious assault warrant for intentionally hitting the mother of his children with a car on Jan. 2.
Police said the driver of the car immediately fled the vehicle upon being stopped. The driver was wearing gray pants and a blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, "making it impossible to positively identify him," the report said.
Upon searching the Ford Fusion for towing information, police found the car's registration, indicating Daniel Marlon Wiggins Jr. as the owner. Police said Wiggins matches the physical build of the driver who fled from the vehicle.
Police said a person matching the physical description of the driver was seen running across a field at the former Libbey High School location, heading toward a creek. Officers lost sight of the person and a perimeter was set up in hopes that the suspect would re-emerge. After it became apparent that the suspect was not re-emerging, police broke down the perimeter, assuming that he was laying low until police crews left.
The report further says that police learned the possible suspect, Wiggins, was reported missing "because his family had not heard from him since the night his vehicle was involved in the listed incident."
Police say the Missing Person case remains open and investigation will continue.
"It is the sincere hope of the Toledo Police Department that Wiggins is found safely so that his family and loved ones can be at peace," said the department.
His disappearance has not been forgotten by the public; this picture was taken on June 2 at a rally in Toledo protesting racial injustice.
Anyone with any information should call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.