06/02/2025
The Elyria Police Department remains actively engaged in efforts to locate Donte Jamar Parker II, who escaped from police custody on February 3rd.
Our police and fire personnel, in collaboration with local and state emergency response partners, are utilizing all available resources
in this search including aerial surveillance, ground searches, and water rescue operations.
At approximately 8:44 PM on February 3, officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 200
block of Washington Ave. for a welfare check. Upon arrival, they located Parker hiding inside the
residence. Parker had multiple outstanding felony warrants through various agencies and was found to be in possession of a firearm. He was taken into custody, but as officers escorted him from the residence he fled on foot while still handcuffed.
Officers immediately established a perimeter and initiated a search. The Lorain County Sheriff’s
Office and the North Ridgeville Police K-9 Unit were contacted to join the search and the Elyria
Police Department launched a thermal imaging drone. The wooded area and riverbanks near the
location where Parker was last seen fleeing on foot were searched and the drone was utilized to
survey the river and surrounding terrain.
Despite these efforts, Parker was not located.
On February 4, investigators obtained surveillance footage showing Parker running eastbound through a nearby apartment complex toward a wooded area near the Black River. While the video does not clearly show whether he entered the wood line, the new information prompted another search of the area. Elyria Police officers and investigators, with assistance from the Elyria Fire Department, conducted a second, thorough search along the riverbank. Though there was no direct evidence that Parker entered the water, rescue teams rappelled down the hillside for a closer inspection. Due to treacherous terrain, icy water conditions, and nighttime visibility concerns, search efforts were temporarily halted for safety reasons and Parker remained missing.
The search continued the morning of February 5. Elyria Police and Fire personnel, again working
together with state response partners, assessed the ice coverage in the Black River to be too
hazardous for the use of boats. Emergency personnel continued searching the waterline and
surrounding riverbanks on foot and with drone surveillance. K-9 units were again deployed. Search
teams also expanded their efforts downstream and along the riverbanks, checking areas near
Cascade Falls and Cascade Park. Despite these efforts, Parker has not been located.
At this time, we cannot confirm whether Parker entered the water and he remains missing. The
Elyria Police Department continues to investigate this incident and we ask for the public’s assistance.
Residents in the 200 block of Washington Ave. and Harrison Ave. are urged to review any exterior camera footage from the evening of February 3 that may show Parker’s movements.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact Detective Larson at (440)
326-1211 or [email protected].
Anonymous tips can also be submitted at
www.cityofelyria.org/tips.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
