MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — As the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation into the disappearance and subsequent death of Michelle Arnold, educators who worked with and mentored Arnold are remembering her impact and promising future years later.
“She’s one of those model students—one of those model students that you want around,” Marcus Green said. “She comes into the room, lights up the room.”
Arnold was part of the Students of Promise program at Maple Heights Middle School. Marcus Green was her coordinator and out of the hundreds of students has worked with over the years, Michelle was “one of my top five best.”
“She was bright. She was smart. Finished top of her class,” he remembers.
After graduation, Green said the honor roll student went on to attend the University of Akron and then started a small business.
“So, she was on her way. She was on her way,” he said.
Green kept in touch with Arnold over the years, talking to her as recently as last summer, just a couple of months before her family reported her missing. She was last seen in Warrensville Heights in October. On Monday, her remains were found in a yard in East Cleveland.
“They found a body and that just that ripped me apart,” Green said. “Kind of going through this emotional battle right now. It’s crazy. I couldn’t get her face out of my head.”
Bob Ivory is the director of Students of Promise. He described Arnold as a standout student with a promising future.
“I mean, just words can’t describe,” Ivory said. “As soon as I saw her face through the text message, I knew exactly who she was. That’s just the type of impact that she left on me six, seven years later.
“She was a beautiful person. Her smile was infectious. Extremely talented academically,” he said.
“And now to have this tragic ending,” Ivory continued, “it just touches us all. And I pray for some comfort and solace for her family. But also pray that there’s justice and that people are held accountable.”
On Friday, Cuyahoga County called this a “dead body investigation” as they wait for the medical examiner to determine her cause of death.
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