Middle Point man sentenced for evidence tampering in man's disappearance
Jul. 29—VAN WERT — A Middle Point man was sentenced this week in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court to two years in prison for tampering with evidence in the case of a Van Wert man who disappeared more than six years ago.
Dale Gear, 58, was convicted by a Van Wert County jury in June on the third-degree felony charge. Judge Martin Burchfield set bond for Gear at $100,000 cash pending appeal.
Gear was indicted by a grand jury in August 2021 on the tampering charge after prosecutors alleged that Gear did, on or about June 24, 2016, "alter, destroy, conceal or remove" possible evidence related to the whereabouts of Kori Glossett.
Investigators twice searched Gear's property for evidence linked to Glossett's disappearance. A search warrant was executed on Gear's property at 304 S. Adams St. in Middle Point on July 27, 2021. On the scene were officers from the Van Wert County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Evidence Response Team and the Van Wert Police Department.
Investigators were at the same location in October of 2016 looking for clues in the disappearance of Glossett, whose father had reported him missing on July 21.
During the investigation, it was learned that Gear had bonded Glossett out of jail on June 24, 2016, and that Glossett had spent the following night at Gear's residence before being dropped off the following morning in Van Wert. Glossett has not been seen since that time.
Prosecutors say Gear provided statements to investigators that "were not truthful."
