An 8-year-old walked into a Cleveland fire station two days before Amber Graham was found dead.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — An 8-year-old child who walked alone into a Cleveland fire station July 1 became part of a wider investigation before authorities identified Amber Graham, a Tennessee mother later found dead outside a West Side home.
Cleveland officials said the child appeared uninjured and had a phone number for a grandmother in Tennessee. Two days later, police found Graham, 37, dead outside a home in the 3400 block of Bosworth Road after officers responded for a welfare check.
Lt. Mike Norman of the Cleveland Fire Department said crews checked the child for medical concerns after she arrived at the station. “She appeared uninjured, but she had a phone number in her pocket for her grandmother in Tennessee,” Norman said. He said firefighters called police, and Child Protective Services was contacted.
Police did not confirm the child’s relationship to Graham, but a friend of Graham said the child was her daughter and had traveled with her from Spring Hill, Tennessee. Cleveland police later said a child connected to Graham had been located and was safe.
Graham’s friend, Joshua LaCroix, said Graham had gone to Cleveland to meet a man she knew through an online video game. He said Graham called during the trip and that he heard an angry man in the background. After Graham stopped answering calls and missed work, relatives reported her missing July 2.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified Graham after her body was found July 3. Police and fire personnel discovered her body covered in a sheet outside the Bosworth Road home. Officials have not released a cause of death, and no arrests or charges had been announced as of Thursday.
LaCroix said friends turned to a Cleveland Facebook group to help find the house Graham may have visited. He said people in the group helped point police to the location. “The police were able to get to the house and, you know, discover what they discovered,” LaCroix said.
The case now rests on the medical examiner’s findings and any next steps by Cleveland police. Authorities have not said when the cause and manner of death will be released.
Author note: Last updated July 9, 2026.