20-Year-Old Ohio Woman Missing Since Tuesday Was Last Seen on Purple Bike

Sierah Joughin went for a bike ride with her boyfriend but the two parted on amicable terms, investigators say

Photo: Source: Facebook

Authorities are searching for a 20-year-old Lyons, Ohio, woman who went missing Tuesday night and was last seen on a purple bicycle, PEOPLE confirms.

Authorities believe Sierah Joughin was riding her bicycle alongside her boyfriend, who was riding a motorcycle, before the pair parted ways for the evening, Lt. Max Nofziger of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office tells PEOPLE.

Joughin was riding a purple bicycle and wearing neon yellow tennis shorts. She was reported missing by her family later that night when she didn’t come home from the ride.

Joughin’s boyfriend, Josh Kolasinski, is cooperating with the investigation, Nofziger says. Nofziger says that they “left on good terms” when they parted ways.

Kolasinski posted a photo of them riding together on social media in which Joughin appears to be wearing a Fitbit fitness band. Authorities are trying to track the band along with her cell phone, Nofziger says. He adds that since one of the “pings” from her cell phone – which has a radius of 10 to 12 miles – was near the Michigan border, Fulton County authorities are in contact with authorities in Michigan.

Joughin is 5-foot-5 inches and weighs 130 lbs, with brown and black hair and brown eyes.

The sheriff’s office is urging anyone with information on Joughin’s whereabouts to call [phone] Ext. 8.

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Aunt: ‘She Didn’t Go Anywhere Willingly’

Tara Shaffer Ice, Joughin’s aunt, tells PEOPLE her niece is a student at the University of Toledo and had been living with her grandmother in Metamora when she disappeared. Joughin had planned to move in with Ice and her family for the school year to be closer to campus, Ice says.

Ice says her niece is family-oriented and very close with her four siblings and four cousins, all of whom live in the area.

“[Joughin] was always the one who wanted to get everyone together,” Ice tells PEOPLE. The family had plans to see the movie The Secret Life of Pets Wednesday night, Ice says.

“We are struggling and trying to stay hopeful,” Ice says through tears. “We just want her to come home safe and [whoever has her] to just leave her where she is and let us have her back.”

Ice says Joughin and her boyfriend, Josh, had been dating since middle school. The two met when they were 10 and became best friends before they started dating, she says. They had talked of marriage, but Joughin wanted to focus on her future before settling down, Ice says.

“She’s a very, very headstrong woman and she had a lot she wanted to do. So there was no question that it would happen someday, but it was happening soon,” Ice says.

The family is cooperating with authorities and is waiting to hear from authorities for updates, she says.

“It s a nightmare,” Ice says, holding back tears. “It s the worst nightmare I’ve ever experienced.”

Joughin enjoyed working out and staying active and was happy at home and at school, Ice says, adding that there was no indication that she would run away.

As for what she thinks has happened to her niece, Ice says, “I don t know, but I definitely know she didn’t go anywhere willingly.”