Governor Offers Rewards In 3 Missing Persons Cases

Governor Offers Rewards In 3 Missing Persons Cases

 

Shelley Mook

 

Lydia Gutierrez

 

Zaylee Grace Fryar

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Governor Bill Haslam announced Wednesday that his office is offering rewards for information leading to the apprehension, arrest, and conviction of the people involved in three separate missing persons cases.

A $10,000 reward is being offered in the case of Shelley Mook. She was last seen on February 28 at her ex-husband's Bedford County home when she dropped of her daughter.  Several hours later, Mook's car was found in flames in Rutherford County.

Investigators believe Mook was the victim of an aggravated kidnapping and/or intentional homicide.

Another $10,000 is offered for information on Lydia Gutierrez's killer. She was found stabbed and strangled in her Gallatin apartment on August 12, 2010. Her two sons, ages one and two, were in the apartment at the time of the murder. Her 8-year-old son found her body when he came home from school.

$5,000 is being offered in Zaylee Grace Fryar's case, a Millersville 3-month old missing since early May. She and her mother, Shauna Fryar, were last seen at her home in Millersville on May 1. They were reported missing on May 5.

Shauna's body was recovered from the Cumberland River days later. An Amber Alert was issued for Zaylee Grace Fryar on May 10.

If you have any information on any of these cases, you're asked to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Police Search for Missing Connecticut Woman Believed to Be in Danger

Police Search for Missing Connecticut Woman Believed to Be in Danger

By Cristina Corbin

Police are examining surveillance video from a convenience store in their search for a missing 30-year-old Connecticut woman they believe is in danger.

Marianne MacKinnon was last seen at a convenience store in Rockville, Conn., at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a spokesman with the Vernon Police Department. 

"We are considering her endangered at this point," spokesman James Grady told FoxNews.com. "We're quite concerned over her well being." 

Grady said the store is located about three-quarters of a mile from MacKinnon's home. Police are now analyzing security footage taken from the store for any clues in her disappearance. 

MacKannon is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 125 pounds.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is being urged to call the Vernon Police Department at 860-872-9126.

New tips revive search for missing woman

New tips revive search for missing woman

Maryland State Police spent Tuesday along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal looking for clues into the almost three-year-old missing persons case of 21-year-old Brittany Nicole Peart.

"They haven't come up with anything yet," said Elena Russo, state police spokeswoman.

State police, aided by the Maryland Natural Resources Police Tactical Team, crime scene and forensics investigators and boats from Cecil County and Chesapeake City rescue squads were assembled at the entrance to Canal National Refuge off of Third Street.

Russo said the search focused on new information received by the North East barrack about the disappearance of Peart. The Elkton woman was last seen July 25, 2008.

Peart had had a disagreement with her mother, packed an overnight bag and left their Elkwood Estates home before 1 a.m. A week later, her 2003 Pontiac Sunbird was found with the bag inside and the keys in the center console.

Peart was never located.

Her family hired private investigator Harry McDaniel in October 2009. McDaniel focused on trying to keep the investigation alive. He helped the family compose a letter to the state police Cold Case Unit. He believed at the time Peart had relocated to "a major city where she can blend in."

Then new tips came in to police.

According to Russo, the search began around 9 a.m.

"They are searching an area that borders the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal," she said.

Land and water are being probed.

"They are searching all kinds of terrain. Some of it is pretty dense," she said. Using golf parlance, she compared it to "four par-5 holes of an area."

Terry Vari, who lives a block away, said the refuge is typically a popular spot for people to run or walk for leisure or exercise, but not on Tuesday.

"A lot of people went down there with their dogs ... or kids in (strollers). They're turning people away," Vari said.

Russo said James Peart, Brittany's father, has been notified of the revived search effort.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation should call the state police cold case hotline at 410-953-8211.

Missing Since January 16, 1987: JOSEPH DAVID HELT

Missing Since January 16, 1987: JOSEPH DAVID HELT

JOE HELT DISAPPEARED AT AGE 17 WITHOUT A TRACE. THIS MONTH HE'D BE 42 YEARS OLD. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO JOE HELT?
Joseph Helt disappeared without a trace in 1987, but his story lives on in the hearts of those he left behind. So many questions left unanswered, so many hopes left unfulfilled. Whatever happened to Joe on that cold January night?

Both of Joe’s parents died of cancer in 2007 & 2008, twenty years after their son vanished from Cragsmoor, without ever knowing what happened to their boy. Now his remaining family and friends seek an answer to this 24-year-old mystery.

The story goes that on January 16th of 1987, 17 year old Joe Helt was partying with friends at the remains of Mount Cathalia Ski Lodge in Cragsmoor, a few miles from his hometown of Ellenville, NY. This was a frequent hang out spot for the kids in that area. At some point in the night, Joe left the party with three acquaintances, Kelly Diaz, Wade Marks, and John LaForge. The four got into LaForge’s Subaru and drove a few miles, heading for Sam’s Point Dwarf Pine Ridge. They drove up the mountain and were following the loop road around the lake when the four wheel drive vehicle got stuck. After attempting to free the vehicle for some time, they say Joe got frustrated and walked off alone, heading back down the mountain and five miles into Ellenville for help. This was at about 3:30 a.m. Twenty minutes later, Marks and Diaz left as well, heading the same direction as Joe, walking to Marks' house which was within two miles of their location. Alone, LaForge left about ten minutes later, heading to his home only a mile and a half away. When the others didn’t catch up to Joe, they thought nothing of it. It was cold and dark; he must have been moving quickly. The next day, LaForge returned to the loop road with some friends to retrieve his vehicle. That evening, Joe did not show up for work. His mother, who had thought he spent the night with friends, became concerned. She made some calls but couldn’t find him.

And the search began. For all of that evening and much of the next day, state police with canines searched a twenty mile square area around Sam’s Point Preserve. As the team searched, the snow began to fall. Over the next few days, a harsh winter storm blew in over the Shawangunks, dumping over two feet of snow on the area around Sam’s Point. The search had to be called off after six days, when the storm made roads impassable, and survival nearly impossible. Search teams returned to the area after the snow melted, but still not a trace of Joseph Helt was ever found.

In January 2011, a group of Joe’s classmates arranged a candlelight vigil, to mark the 24th anniversary of his disappearance. They are working to raise awareness for Joe’s case, which is now under a new detective and being reviewed. A Facebook page and Twitter account are the center of the awareness effort in support of Joe Helt. Media response includes articles in local and regional newspapers and coverage on YNN News Channel 6, NBC and Nancy Grace. Most recently, an online petition is asking for FBI involvement in Joe’s case, and it appears there may be reason.

Those supporting Joe’s cause have been putting up fliers around the Ellenville area, and those fliers have repeatedly been torn down, except for the two in sight of security cameras. Suggestions have been made of fabrication or alterations of details to the case and the story of what happened that night. Some say that the story given by the last three to ever see him makes no sense at all. There are also suggestions that conflicts of interest may have occurred between this case and a political figure in the area at the time. It seems that there is more motivation behind this publicity than just closure. And one can't help but wonder about any such motivation, especially since Joe's case was never listed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children until 2010, a full 23 years AFTER he disappeared. He was never listed on the NYS Police's list of Missing Persons until 2011, a full 24 years AFTER he went missing. Law enforcement has never contacted Crime Stoppers either. Family, friends and those familiar with Joe’s case think there is something yet to be discovered. Perhaps there really is a mystery to be solved in Ellenville, NY. 24 years later, as his 42nd birthday approaches, it is about time we found an answer to the big question; what really happened to Joe Helt?


7/5/11:truecrimediva.com "What Happened to 17-year old Joseph Helt? 24 Years Later Justice is Demanded
www.truecrimediva.com/?p=344


6/14/11 CrimeWire: Joseph Helt's Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS8zIok7T6A


5/29/11 Cold Case Mystery Show: The Joseph Helt Story

http://forjoehelt.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/13797323-cold-case-mystery-the-joseph-helt-story



1987 Times Herald Record articles:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1848765859457.111570.1250022293



Jan. 13, 2011, Tod Westlake

Shawangunk Journal article:

http://www.shawangunkjournal.com/2011/01/13/news/1101130.html

http://www.shawangunkjournal.com/2011/01/20/news/1101203.html



Times Herald Record articles:

1/15/2011 Kevin Gleason

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110115%2FNEWS%2F101150324

1/17/2011 Keith Goldberg

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110117%2FNEWS%2F101170325%2F-1%2Frss01

Times Herald Record photos:

1/17/2011 Jeff Goulding

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=%2F_flash%2Fgallery%2Fgallery.html&Site=TH&Date=20110116&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=116009997&Ref=PH





YNN Hudson Valley News Channel 6 coverage (3 stories):

YNN News 4/9/11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snfCBxLrY38



YNN News 1/16/11 Candlelight Vigil story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmN5xKsTI64



YNN News 1/16/11 News story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnB-xEkW664





1/29/11 Nancy Grace‘s “America’s Missing: 50 people in 50 days”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVJnVvCNzME



2/11/11 NBC (NYC) news segment, Pei-Sze Cheng:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Decades-Old-Disappearance-Still-Haunts-New-York-Town-116025154.html



2/11/11NBC (NYC) VIDEO segment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0hD7baDT3s



2/14/11 Poughkeepsie Journal article Emily Hamilton:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/a...sing-classmate



Blog Talk Radio:

2/27/11 Bring Them Home Now Radio:

http://forjoehelt.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/13491140-joseph-helt-story-on-bring-them-home-now-blog-talk-radio



2/26/11 CUBANARAMA Radio:

http://forjoehelt.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/13486474-joseph-helt-story-on-cubanarama-blog-talk-radio

Family remembers teen missing for five years

Family remembers teen missing for five years

by SHELTON GREEN

The family of a missing Austin teenager who disappeared five years ago Thursday, plastered the intersection where she was last seen with missing person fliers.
“That missing link to the puzzle, that's what I'm hoping for,” said Liz Harris, the mother of 18-year-old Roxanne Paltauf.

On July 7th, 2006 Roxanne Paltauf was staying at the Budget Inn Motel at I-35 and Rundberg with her then-boyfriend. He was the last person to see her alive.

The boyfriend told police that he and Paltauf had an argument and that she walked away from the motel leaving behind her purse, cell phone, and shoes.

In April of 2011 Austin police moved Roxanne’s case out of the Missing Persons Unit to the Cold Case Unit.

“There is someone out there who does know what happened to her that's probably not involved in what happened to her," said Austin Police Detective Richard Faithful.

In the past five years, Paltauf’s family has gone to every extreme trying to find her or information regarding her disappearance. Using everything from billboard ads to a spot on the national television show “America’s Most Wanted” and countless searches. Five years later Roxanne’s family is not giving up.

“We are a strong family, and we’ll keep looking for Roxanne if it’s another five years,” said Liz Harris.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 472-TIPS. Any tip leading to an arrest could result in a $1,000 reward. You can remain anonymous.

Images on cars will focus on Daytona Beach missing persons case

Joe Nemecheck's car

Images on cars will focus on Daytona Beach missing persons case

By George Diaz

DAYTONA BEACH — Diane Hollins and her daughter Tammy disappeared 32 years ago.

A neighbor saw them walking toward the railroad tracks near their Daytona Beach home around 6 a.m. on June 11, 1979. Then they were gone.

No bodies. No evidence. No clues.

It's been three decades of unanswered questions, pain, agony, uncertainty and anguish for their family. Fill-in-the-blanks, they've felt it. The horror has been unspeakable.

"We want to know if they are living or if they are dead," said Diane's sister, Loretta Robinson.

Robinson isn't a racing fan — she has no plans on embracing the rumble and roar at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. But she has found a compassionate ally in the NASCAR garage.

Two cars in Friday's Subway Jalapeno 250 Nationwide Series race will bear the images of her sister and niece —Kevin Conway's No. 87 Toyota will feature Diane and teammate/owner Joe Nemechek's No. 97 Toyota will feature Tammy. Their images will be on the back of the car, along with contact information for the Daytona Beach Police Department.

It's a Hail Mary play, in all honesty. The police department has no leads and really never did.

Diane never showed up for work that day and Tammy didn't go to school. They left all their stuff in the house, all their money in the bank. They had no car.

They just walked somewhere and vanished.

"This case really intrigues me," said Steve Beres, deputy chief of police of the Daytona Beach Police Department. "We owe it to the family. We owe it to everybody out there. We owe it to Tammy and Diane."

Conway reached out to Beres on June 15, asking about the possibility of featuring a missing persons case on their cars. Out of about 15 cold cases at the Daytona Beach Police Department, this one stood out.

Conway's ExtenZe and NEMCO Motorsports group has done this four times before, starting in Kansas this season. The unusual partnership has produced a few leads. In California, the group featured Jack Daniel Phillips, a 9-year-old who was last seen at a campground in August 1995. His mom saw a TV report from trackside and called the media-relations manager of the group. She was then able to connect with the San Bernardino police department, which had lost touch with her.

Working with police departments trying to solve cold cases is an offshoot of the "ExtenZe Local Hero" program that honors "people who have gone to great lengths to make a difference in their communities." This takes it to another level, with elements of mystery and emotional trauma for the families involved.

"It's amazing how many cases end up going cold," Conway said. "When you think how many years have gone by, it's amazing how somebody can fall off the radar without a clue."

Robinson was ecstatic when Beres called her for permission to use the images of Diane and Tammy. So much time has passed. Both parents are dead and so is an older sister. Now 72, Robinson still lives in Daytona Beach with her husband. A daughter, sister and brother are still here too.

Her thoughts keep coming back to the same thing: "It's hard to believe she's been gone that long."

Tammy was 14 when she disappeared. She is African-American, 5 foot 2 with brown eyes. She weighed 105 pounds. Diane was 31, 5 foot 6, brown eyes, too. She weighed 135 pounds.

In the promotional blitz of soft drinks, snack foods and home improvement stores, the poignant images of Diane and Tammy will roll by the track for 100 laps Friday night.

Will that 250-mile journey bring closure for the family?

Maybe, just maybe, they will be found in a blur. Just like the moment they disappeared 32 years ago.

Police Launch Manhunt After Boy Killed

2 Shot Dead, 3 Injured in Surburban Philly Home

GILBERTSVILLE, Pa. — A shooting at a rural home in suburban Philadelphia killed a 2-year-old boy and a man from Massachusetts and critically injured three other people, authorities said Sunday.

Police were called late Saturday to the residence in Douglass Township in Montgomery County, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele identified the dead as 43-year-old Joseph Shay, of Yarmouth, Mass., and New York City, and 2-year-old Gregory Erdmann, of Fall River, Mass. Both were shot in the head.

The boy's mother, 37-year-old Kathryn Erdmann, also was shot in the head and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Also critically injured were the homeowners, 64-year-old Paul Shay and 58-year-old Monica Shay, of New York City.

The couple live in the East Village of Manhattan, where Paul Shay owns a plumbing company, and his wife is the director of the arts and cultural management program at Pratt Institute.

A neighbor, Dan Hoyt, 48, told The New York Daily News that Joseph Shay, their nephew, moved in about a year ago and did construction work for his uncle. "He was trying to help Joseph out," Hoyt said of the uncle.

He said the nephew recently had an argument with a man outside the apartment building.

No suspect was in custody, and police didn't have a description of the shooter, Steele said. The survivors were unable to speak to investigators, he said.