Few leads in missing woman case

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim McGuire

Johnstown police detectives worked all weekend and were following leads again Monday in the disappearance of West Main Street resident Kellisue Ackernecht, said Fulton County District Attorney Louise K. Sira.

“There is nothing so far pointing them in one direction or another,” Sira said.

The 43-year-old Ackernecht has been missing since the early morning of Oct. 1, about the same time her 1998 Saturn sedan was found burning in a parking area where West Montgomery Street ends at the Rail Trail in the Cayadutta Creek Valley.

Sira said the car was destroyed and investigators have been unable to determine “whether it was intentionally set on fire or had a mechanical problem.”

While investigators continue to work on the case, Sira said, “there is simply no evidence at this time” to indicate the woman has been harmed or that she left the area on her own.

Sira said Ackernecht’s husband, Jayson Ackernecht, is cooperating with police.

Officials have said the relationship between the missing woman and her husband had been strained of late.

Johnstown Police Lt. Mark Gifford said there is no indication Kellisue Ackernecht, who has a young daughter, has called any family members since her disappearance and there are no reports anyone saw her arrive in Johnstown the night of Sept. 30 after she left work at the Rite Aid pharmacy in Amsterdam.

Several ground searches in the area where the car was found yielded no evidence, officials said. A helicopter search was also unsuccessful.

“We’re following every lead,” Lt. Gifford said.