Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – A local family has decided to put its money where its mouth is, literally, when it comes to finding Damien Sharp.
Jodi and Gavin Hollabaugh are offering a $3,000 reward for information that helps lead Warren Police Detective Tiffany Dyke to Sharp’s remains. Dyke is now the lead detective on the Sharp case after longtime Det. Tony Chimenti retired earlier this year.
The Hollabaughs were inspired to offer the reward money, at least in part, thanks to the investigative podcast “Smoke: The Disappearance of Damien Sharp.” (Editor’s Note: Your Daily Local is a co-producer of the podcast) The podcast, launched on the 20th anniversary of Sharp’s disappearance, has led to renewed interest in the 20-year-old cold case.
“So I followed the case from the time it happened even though I didn’t live around here,” Jodi Hollabaugh said on the most recent episode of the podcast. “And I’ve watched it over the years. I followed some Facebook pages that have been come up over the years. I’ve seen his mother on the news. Then when we moved back, and I found your Facebook page and some others. And then, I don’t know, my husband and I were talking one night and we hung up the phone and I told him to listen to the podcast. He called me back and he said, ‘We need to offer up some reward money.’ He said, ‘We have to give his mother some closure.’ And that’s what it’s about.”
The $3,000 being offered by the Hollabaughs is in addition to the record $2,000 reward offered by Warren County Crimestoppers.
“I mean, it’s about trying to get some people’s attention,” Jodi Hollabaugh said. “It’s been too long. Somebody around here knows something. And if it’s money that’s going to make them talk . . .”
Podcast co-host Stacey Gross said she’s heard various reasons from people about why they want to help get the case solved.
“Overall, what I’ve seen most is people motivated to come out for Damien in ways and for reasons, I would not have expected, but which make me really happy with the community I come from,” Gross said.
While the Hollabaughs are the only ones offering a financial reward, many individuals have contacted Gross with additional information since the podcast launched.
“With memories being jogged, I find that what started out as a message or two a week has become three or four individuals reaching out by phone, email, or instant messenger to tell me something they heard or saw, found, or believe to be true,” Gross said. “Kids who didn’t get along with him in high school, as adults, have reached out to tell me that they look at the situation now, as adults, and find it hard to focus on the high school issues or grudges. The support for Damien and his family in the community has blossomed openly as the episodes come out.”
Gross thinks Damien’s story can serve as a lesson for what it means to be a community.
“Most of all I think the lesson we need to take away from Damien’s story, no matter how it ends, is that we need to care about one another,” Gross said. “And we need to use our power to resolve cases like this as a community. Damien belongs to Warren County as a whole. And as a whole, I think, is how we’ll find him.”
For Jodi, it comes down to wanting closure for Sharp’s family.
“It’s been 20 years, it’s time to talk,” Jodi said. “We’re all older now. We’ve all got our own kids, our own families. Put yourself in his family’s shoes. Look at your children. I mean, we’re getting to the ages now where most of us have kids almost that age (that Damien was when he disappeared) now. Look at your child, what would you do if it was your kid? Time to start talking. His mother deserves to know.”
