#nelsoncroft

He remembers when his cruiser was equipped with a video cassette recorder – or “VCR”. It was a full-sized appliance, and the bulky unit was stuffed and installed under his seat. After each shift, he ejected the videotape and turned it in at the office, and then he was issued a new cassette for his next patrol duty. It was awkward progress, Ohio County Sheriff Nelson Croft acknowledges now, but it was cutting-edge technology when introduced in the 1990s. Plus, at the time, Croft had no way of knowing he’d be wearing a camera on his chest before his law enforcement career was complete. The Ohio County Sheriff's Office is located on 16th Street in downtown Wheeling. “When we first got the cruiser cameras, they were really rudimentary, but they worked for what they were intended for at that time. We had the technology that we had back then, and it’s certainly advanced since,” Croft said. “But back then, we had to have a full-sized VCR in the trunk or even under our seats, and we had to turn in the tapes and keep the tapes for long periods of time when something important was recorded. “We still have our cruiser cameras and they work much better these days and the images are much clearer, too. It’s become all digital now,” he explained. “The body camera devices we’re using are for the best of everyone involved because our deputies and the citizens they interact with are recorded and the details are right there for everyone to see.” Once receiving a federal grant, Croft introduced the use of body cameras for himself and every deputy of the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office late last summer, and since, he insisted, the benefits have outweighed any inconvenience. Sheriff Croft followed in his father's footsteps when it came to a career in law enforcement. Harry was once an Ohio County deputy who had a long career as an investigator in the Upper Ohio Valley. “Because of the grant, acquiring them was a no-brainer,” Croft said. “We have a multi-year contract for them, and I do believe that in the years to come, body cams likely will be mandatory for everyone in uniform. The pros for us outweigh the cons by far. “When a deputy interacts with the public, he’s expected to turn it on so everything can be recorded until he is finished with that interaction,” explained Croft, who expects he will run for re-election in 2028. “Each day, the deputy brings their body cam back to the office and plugs it in so the footage can upload to our cloud (storage). And yes, we have had several requests for the footage, mostly from the Prosecutor’s Office.” Nelson Croft served as a deputy sheriff in Ohio County for 31.5 years before he was elected as the sheriff of Ohio County. Seeing Is Believing The cruiser cameras were positioned in an automobile’s front window, so law enforcement officers were trained to conduct any interaction with an individual close to the vehicle’s front bumper. Those occasions included field-based questioning and also field sobriety tests when a LEO suspected driving under the influence of alcohol. Now, though, the body cams are positioned center-chest and often provide perfect perspectives during those same interactions. Once the technology was received last July, Croft confirmed, each of Ohio County’s deputies was thoroughly trained so they understood how best to utilize the equipment. Traffic along I-70's "Two-Mile Hill" is monitored all-day, everyday because of issues like speeding, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, according to Sheriff Croft. The cameras proved their worth quickly, too. “We phased in the cameras in shifts over three days, and it was a four-hour training so we could learn everything about the equipment,” Croft reported. “After that, we got our cameras and they deployed from the office and the first call was a violent domestic situation. It was a strangulation case, and the female had to fight off her attacker and then she shot him with a pepperball gun. “Kudos to her for being prepared to protect herself and not dying in this situation,” the sheriff said. “When our deputies arrived, he was tearing up her property, and then he took a swing at the deputy. With the cameras recording, the male was taken in custody and thanks to the cameras, he can’t claim that our deputy did anything wrong.” A common police report includes space for an individual’s critical information and also for a narrative that is completely by the responding deputy, and while the LEO does their best to describe situations, the displays offered by the body cameras consistently offer better definition. Croft (front row, second from left) was a young deputy under former sheriff Tom Burgoyne when cruiser cams were introduced in Ohio County. Sheriff Croft explains it this way.    “Before the cameras, we would put in our reports that a victim had a red neck from the altercation, but to watch the incident in real-time is something completely different. You can see the red neck, sure, but pretty often you can also see how a victim got the red neck,” the sheriff explained. “What better evidence could you have than the video recording? “And as for taking a swing at the deputy, there's no way he can say that our deputies had him down and were kicking him because it’s now all recorded. If they didn't have the body cameras, though, telling lies like that would still be a possibility,” Croft added. “I know our deputies do the job the way they’re supposed to protect and serve the people of Ohio County, so that’s why it’s easy for me to say that the body cameras are working out well for our department.” Read the full article

WHEELING, W.Va. – State Treasurer Larry Pack was in the Northern Panhandle on Friday, February 13 to present a total of $61,731.37 in unclaimed property funds in three separate ceremonies to the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, Hancock County Board of Education and Everything Fiesta in Newell.  “Our local leaders in business, education, and law enforcement do so much for our communities every day. These unclaimed property funds will help them continue to make the best decisions for the community,” Treasurer Pack said. “I’m proud my Office was able to locate this money and return it to the Northern Panhandle.”  Treasurer Pack joined Fiesta Tableware Company CEO and President Liz McIlvain on Friday morning to present an unclaimed property check, valued at $33,371.66, which came from a state check. The company manufactures dinnerware of all shapes, colors and sizes from its factory in Hancock County.  “Many thanks to Larry Pack and the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office for returning over $30,000 to The Fiesta Tableware Company,” McIlvain said. “The Fiesta Tableware Company has been a proud West Virginia manufacturer of dishware for over 120 years. Our most collected and identified dinnerware is colorful Fiesta. Fiesta will be celebrating its 90th anniversary this year as one of the legacy manufacturers in the state of West Virginia.”  On Friday afternoon, Treasurer Pack presented Hancock County Schools Superintendent Walt Saunders and school board leaders with an unclaimed property check valued at $19,507.02. These funds came from stale date checks issued by the state and miscellaneous payments.  “It’s exciting to get a different revenue stream,” Saunders said. “This is what was out there for us. Erin (Harvey) did a great job in recognizing this resource and reaching out. This is part of the mindset change we are looking at up here.”  To cap the day, Treasurer Pack joined Ohio County Sheriff’s Deputy Nelson Croft at the Wheeling Nailers hockey game to present an unclaimed property check valued at $8,852.69. These funds come from various sources including stale checks.  “This funding can assist us in purchasing equipment and taking care of our day-to-day expenses,” Croft said.   The Treasurer’s Office has more than $533 million worth of unclaimed property listings in its database. Currently, Hancock County has more than 74,000 unclaimed property listings worth nearly $9.5 million for individuals, businesses and organizations. In Ohio County, there are currently more than 122,000 unclaimed property listings worth over $22 million.  Since the start of Fiscal Year 2026, which began on July 1, 2025, the Treasurer’s Office has returned more than $14.2 million to rightful owners.  “I want to encourage individuals and other organizations to keep checking our unclaimed property database because you never know if there may be unclaimed funds in your name,” Treasurer Pack said.  To learn about the unclaimed property program or to find out if the Office is holding any money for you or your family, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.  Read the full article

The bench on which she likely sat was knocked over, and 26-year-old Roberta Elam was apparently dragged by her throat to a grassy area where she was raped, strangled to death, and left where she gasped her final breath on June 13, 1977. “Sister Robin” was partially clothed when she was discovered by a groundskeeper approximately three hours after the crime had been committed on the grounds of Mount St. Joseph’s Convent near Oglebay Park. According to the reports, her neck and legs were bruised, her slacks and white blouse were soiled, and serene changed to surreal on a property designed for seclusion. Nearly 50 years later, a new lead in the tragic case is under investigation. Roberta "Robin" Elam was interred in an area at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling that has been set aside for the Sisters of St. Joseph. “Det. Doug Ernest is our chief investigator, and he tracked down a new lead in Tennessee just before the flooding last June. So, yes, the case is still being worked,” explained Ohio County Sheriff Nelson Croft. “Doug has been working that case most of his career, and I know he would love to get it solved. “And I would love to help solve that case during my tenure as Ohio County’s sheriff because ‘Sister Robin’ deserves it. She deserves the justice, and so does the family,” he said. “If it's not, I would love to have it solved under the next sheriff's tenure. Just for the closure.” Elam had lived in four states by the time she moved to the Fulton neighborhood of Wheeling in 1976, and she had petitioned the Sisters of St. Joseph’s for her eight-day retreat to contemplate a life of poverty and service to the Roman Catholic Church. Following the murder, thousands of tips were received, and Croft also confirmed that investigators know much more than they have released to the public. "Sister Robin" was residing at Mount St. Joseph at the time of the murder because she was on a retreat during which she was to contemplate a life as a nun in the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, Croft confirmed that the case file remains off limits to media members because it is an active case. Most of what has been collected during the past four decades rests in a few “banker boxes,” and inside are many details of the crime that only the perpetrator and investigators would know. “It might be a cold case, but it’s still an open case here in Ohio County, and that means we have to be very careful,” the sheriff said. “We’re hoping someone out there knows more than we do and will come forward someday.” "Sister Robin" had lived in four states before she traveled to Ohio County to join the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to begin preparing for her life as a nun. A Half Century Ago When ‘Sister Robin’ was attacked, raped, and murdered nearly 50 years ago, law enforcement did not have the investigative tools that are available today. That includes DNA, three-dimensional laser scanning, national evidence networks like CODIS and the AFIS fingerprint database, drone/surveillance technology, and – believe it or not – social media networks. Jurisdiction, too, was an issue at times, and that seemed to be a problem with this case, according to the late-great Tom Burgoyne, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 33 years before serving eight years as Ohio County’s sheriff from 2000-2008. Burgoyne insisted nearly 10 years ago that the case was not handled properly. One of the investigators back in 1977 created this sketch after speaking with locals about who they saw in the area during the morning of the murder. “If you talked to anyone who was involved with the case from the very beginning, they will tell you that it was mishandled pretty badly, but those offices operated very differently back then,” he said in August 2016. “In 1977, when the voters elected a new sheriff, he brought his own people in for the deputy positions, and that meant a guy could have been a farmer one day and a sheriff’s deputy the next day.” Sheriff Croft concurs. “I know I was just a six-year-old kid, but I remember when ‘Sister Robin’ was raped and murdered at Mount St. Joseph, and I’ve discussed that case a lot with my father (Harry – former Ohio County deputy) over the years,” he said. “I just wish there would have been more cooperation between all of the agencies that were working that case. That’s my gripe about that case. This graphic and photo appear on the "Find A Grave" website for Roberta "Sister Robin" Elam, a native of Minnesota who traveled to the Wheeling area in 1976. “I’ve thought that since I first started learning how an investigation is conducted. When I’ve studied the case and talked with my father, I just think everyone wanted to be the one who solved it,” he said. “While I understand wanting to be successful at what you do, I have to wonder if the case would have ever gone cold if it was handled more professionally. I have to wonder if the murderer could have been found.” While Det. Ernest chased down the new lead back in June, Croft acknowledged it wasn’t the first time his office has received suggestions from the public. This summary of the case appears on the Ohio Valley Cold Case website. “We know people are still thinking about ‘Sister Robin’, and we do get the occasional call with ideas and their theories. They ask if we ever talked to this guy and that guy, and I always put those folks in contact with Doug. Because you never know,” Croft said. “As far as cold cases go, it’s the most popular one in Ohio County by far. “There was a lot of evidence collected, and I believe it’s a case that needs a break,” the sheriff added. “And who knows when that could take place.” Read the full article