LGBTQ+ Ohioans launch statewide effort to locate missing person

Canton drag performer Ryan Godbey, also known as “JJ,” has not been seen or heard from since after midnight on June 19.

After the 26-year-old did not show up for a booked performance at Canton Queer Prom two days later, friends and family became concerned for Godbey’s safety and reported him missing on June 22.

Since then, LGBTQ+ Ohioans have shared social media posts with Godbey’s photo and information thousands of times, hoping to generate leads regarding his whereabouts.

His mother, Jackie Godbey, has hung hundreds of missing posters with Ryan’s photo across the city. 

Godbey told News 5 reporter Bob Jones that police discovered signs of a struggle inside his apartment – and that it is unlike her son to disappear without returning texts or calls.

“I love him. My mom loves him. Our family loves him. The LGBTQ community loves him. We just want Ryan home,” she told News 5.

“Based on a number of factors in this case, detectives are acting with an increased sense of urgency,” Canton Police Chief John Gabbard said in a written statement. “We need help from anyone in the community who may have information.”

In security camera footage from Darlin’s CREW nightclub in downtown Canton, Godbey can be seen at around 11 p.m. accompanied by an unidentified man wearing a grey hooded long sleeve shirt.

Police are looking for any information that could help identify the man.

In a written statement posted to their Facebook page, Darlin’s CREW said Godbey met the unidentified man that evening and both seemed to behave normally while at the bar.

The Canton Repository reported that Godbey sent a text to a friend at 12:27 a.m. the same night, saying a person named Danny was “mad.” Godbey has not responded to any texts or phone calls since.

Five days later, on June 24, News 5 Cleveland confirmed that Godbey’s driver’s license and bank card were found by members of an Ohio Department of Transportation crew along I-77 near the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On June 26, Canton Police Department spokesman Lt. Dennis Garren told reporters at The Canton Repository a second man who is “an associate of the victim” was arrested on unrelated charges at a vacant building in northwest Canton.

Garren also told reporters via email that detectives found the man in possession of drugs when they attempted to interview him regarding Godbey’s whereabouts.

The man is currently being held on $75,000 bond set by Magistrate Christy Pierson.

Godbey is white, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 180 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. He was last seen wearing white shoes, black pants and a red T-shirt.

Please contact the Canton Police Communication Center at 330-649-5800 or the Canton Police Detective Bureau at 330-489-3144 with any information regarding Ryan Godbey’s whereabouts.

Law enforcement also welcomes anonymous tips via text at Tip411.

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Ignite Action

• To contact the Canton Police Communication Center, call 330-649-5800.
• To contact the Canton Police Detective Bureau, call 330-489-3144.
• To contact Canton Police Department’s Detective Anthony Ankrom with information regarding Ryan Godbey, call 330438-4421.
• To report a tip anonymously, click here.