Our prayers are with the families.. Our hopes and desires are that the men are found safe and alive. Our fears..? Our fears is that they will not be.
From reporting in the NEW YORK TIMES within the day, this information:
The first to vanish, Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, was last seen around 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Newtown Township, Pa., and did not show up for work the next day, the authorities said.On Friday around 6 p.m., Mark Sturgis, 22, told his father he was going to meet up with his longtime best friend, Tom Meo, 21, and that they would be ready for their construction jobs the next morning. They did not show up, and their cellphones went straight to voice mail.
Dean Finocchiaro, 18, was last seen about 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Middletown Township.
In the hours after the four men disappeared, the police departments and the district attorney’s office in Bucks County — where violent crime is considered rare — cast a wide net, searching throughout the county and requesting the public’s help on social media. On Saturday afternoon, the authorities got a break: Mr. Finocchiaro’s cellphone was tracked to a vast farm off a country road in Solebury Township.
News developed in the last 24 hours of a potential lead. More from the TIMES:
On Monday, the police arrested the son of the farm’s owners, Cosmo DiNardo, 20, on a prior felony weapons charge, according to court records. They also searched the farm with heavy equipment. Mr. DiNardo, who was being held on $1 million bail in the Bucks County Jail, had the charge initially dismissed in May. The authorities declined to say whether they believed Mr. DiNardo played a role in the disappearance of the four men.I actually saw the story of these missing Bucks County men show on a number of social media sites focusing on the potential 'Smiley Face killer' .. But even that is dumbfounding. Those who believe in the Smiley Face killer would even have to admit this is does not fit the motive of their favorite would-be serial killer. That killer, if you believe in him/her/them, strikes in colder months..in bars.. near water. So far if we believe the investigating authorities are on to something, we are focusing on a farm.
But with social media, manners and prayers take a back seat to basement-typed investigation. Let the events play out. Hope and prayer for the families--can you imagine their raw emotions and feelings right now!? Can you just contemplate this? ...try. Before concluding the death investigation on your laptop, let the officials do it.
There are a number of things I am particularly interested in as this develops..
DiNardo was not yet named as a suspect of any kind in the dissapearances. Instead at this time it appears just a gun offense. That may develop different, but for now it has yet to occur..
We know at least two of the four missing men were good friends, and all four appeared to know each other. There is little information about where exactly they were traveling to or what they were doing the days they vanished.
How will this fact play into things: One of the missing men, Finocchiaro, has been arrested multiple times on charges that include drug possession, driving under the influence and assault. He is due in court in the assault case this summer. Did drugs play a bigger role, of any kind, in this story? Time will tell..
If DiNardo is determined to not have a role, where will police focus next? With FBI involvement there is obviously a jurisdictional issue that interested the federal government investigators. That is interesting..
And finally...if this plays into a larger more national issue, are there are dissapearances in close states that mirror what is occurring in Bucks County?
All of these questions may be answered soon. Some may not be answered at all..
Armchair investigators need to cool it a bit, however. The last thing an investigator--a true investigator--does is conclude a case before investigating it.
The chips will fall here they may. Prayers to all involved..and prayers that God reveals the truth so families have closure or relief.
DEVELOPING..