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Woman missing for 20 years

GIRARD – Today marks 20 years since Charlotte Nagi Pollis was reported missing, and family members said they haven’t given up hope that one day someone will be held accountable.

“It’s been 20 years of built-up frustration. It’s like no one really cares anymore. But we care,” her brother, Ali Nagi of Youngstown, said.

”I think about it every day. I look at her case every day. There are a lot of questions, and I know there are people who have the answers. We’re just hoping they finally come forward.”

Nagi said he realizes the case went cold at least 15 years ago, but he’s hoping that advances in technology and social media connections can help net new leads for investigators.

Pollis’ husband, Paul Pollis, reported her missing from their Girard home on March 12, 1994. Charlotte Pollis, who was 28, has never been found.

Investigators have said they believe they know who is responsible, but they have never been able to gather enough evidence to prove it.

The family searched much of Trumbull County and beyond after the young mother of two toddlers disappeared. Reports state that she took no belongings, money or her medicine, leaving behind family including her husband, children, parents and five siblings.

Nagi said he and other family members are certain she was murdered. Like some police, Nagi, a former reserve deputy for the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office, said he knows who killed his sister.

“I would love to have 10 minutes alone in a room with him. I wouldn’t hurt him or anything. But I would ask a lot of questions because I have a lot of questions he has never answered,” he said. “But that will never happen.”

No one was ever charged in her death or disappearance.

Her husband, Paul Pollis, who was 27 at the time, vanished days after his wife disappeared but returned to Trumbull County several months later. Police charged him with obstructing official business after he failed to be available for questioning and didn’t show up for a polygraph test. The test was scheduled three days after he reported his wife missing.

However, a judge dismissed the charges, ruling that he had a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The judge said Paul Pollis had cooperated with police by speaking with them and allowing a search of his home shortly after he filed a missing persons report on his wife.

Attempts by a Tribune Chronicle reporter to reach Paul Pollis by telephone on Tuesday were not successful.

Nagi, who was 25 at the time, said he’s hoping to get his sister’s name “back out there” to renew interest in her case and possibly spark some memories.

“I can’t forget. I can’t move on. She’s my sister. She’s the one who encouraged me to go into law enforcement, get my degree,” he said. “You just can’t give up on something like this.”

Nagi said there are no vigils or memorial services planned for today. He said family members now “deal with it in their own way.”

“It’s hard. Life has gone on, but it hasn’t. It’s always there. Not just on an anniversary but every day. That’s how it will be until there’s justice. There’s really no rest until then,” he said.

Nagi said one of the saddest times since his sister went missing was when his father died with no resolution in her disappearance.

“Without a doubt, there are a lot of things, stories that just don’t add up. It’s frustrating too because people who knew about the case and maybe had some answers or information have since died. The information they had was buried with them,” he said.

Girard Police Chief Jeff Palmer, one of the investigators, said his department continues to follow every lead it gets.

“It’s a tough situation though. There was hardly any evidence to go on. Just a lot of questions,” he said.

Palmer said that because the case remains open he cannot comment on whether he believes she is still alive.

“We follow every lead that comes. We welcome any information,” he said.

Palmer said investigators haven’t given up hope and encourage anyone with any information to come forward.

“People can contact us anonymously if they prefer. If we can get this back out there and get people thinking about it again maybe someone will remember something,” he said.

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