Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., who’s being held in the Jefferson County Jail stemming from a Florida murder charge, is a ‘person of interest’ in the 1996 disappearance of a man who once served as a preacher in the Hillsboro area, said Lt. Doc Coombs of the Sheriff’s Office.
Ronnie Bolin, a former minister with the Hosanna Christian Center in the Hillsboro area, was last seen July 8, 1996, at a carwash on North Florissant Avenue in St. Louis, authorities say.
Wright is a person of interest in that case, Coombs said Wednesday (Sept. 16), adding that he spoke to Wright Sept. 9 at the Jefferson County Jail, where Wright is being held while Florida authorities attempt to extradite him to their state in connection with the June 29 death of Dr. Teresa Sievers.
Coombs said he encouraged Wright to contact him if he decides to speak about Bolin.
“I just wanted to make myself available to him,” Coombs said. “I said if you’d like to speak, I’d like to hear from you. He did not respond. I haven’t gotten any calls from him.”
Authorities say Bolin was 33 at the time of his disappearance. His vehicle was found abandoned in north St. Louis with the keys inside and the driver’s-side door open. He has not been seen or heard from since, authorities report.
According to Jefferson County court records, Wright was being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail after being charged Aug. 31 as a Fugitive from Out of State, an unclassified felony.
The Naples Daily News of Naples, Fla., reported Wright and Jimmy Ray Rodgers, 25, of Cadet have been charged with second-degree murder in Lee County, Fla., over the death of Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46.
The Jefferson County probable-cause statement asserts Wright is wanted for the felony offense of murder and “is currently confined in the Jefferson County Jail and refuses extradition.”
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesmen say Lee County prosecutors are attempting to complete the involuntary extradition process.
According to published reports, Wright was a friend of Sievers’ husband while both attended high school in Hillsboro.
Rodgers, meanwhile, was being held in the St. Francois County Jail, according to published reports.
Authorities in Florida and Missouri have released few details about the Sievers case.