NY NY - Michael Taus, 24, West Islip, 18 June 2010

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WI1987 said:
March 2012 - still missing. Anything new? Where is this guy?
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I live very close to West Islip (20 minutes away, max) and am only a few years older than this man. I am sad to say that I have NEVER heard of this case and only came across it here on WS. I read Newsday as well as watch News12 Long Island and there was virtually no media coverage that I can recall. Heartbreaking.
 
Since there isn't much to go by in this case.. I'm going to throw a scenario out there based on what I have seen/read.

I'm guessing MT went somewhere for the night... possibly to the home of his date. Maybe its in a not so good part of town... a place hes not too familiar with. Maybe this girl has brothers or some other male relatives that weren't happy with her dating a "white boy". Maybe his dog needed to go outside in the middle of the night, so he took him for a walk. From experience, I can say that gangsters love pitbulls because they're "tough" dogs (but when raised correctly, they are super sweet!). Maybe some gangsters, perhaps the male acquaintances of the date confronted him outside and tried to take the dog and he put up a fight. He might have had his car keys on him so they jacked the car too. I can see the girl not coming forward for fear of being labeled a "rat".
 
KHpsych said:
I live very close to West Islip (20 minutes away, max) and am only a few years older than this man. I am sad to say that I have NEVER heard of this case and only came across it here on WS. I read Newsday as well as watch News12 Long Island and there was virtually no media coverage that I can recall. Heartbreaking.
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I live in and grew up in West Islip. In fact I happen to be only a year younger than Michael - I never knew him though he does look vaguely familiar.

The case was reported in Newsday and on News12 a few times but not to the extent you would expect in a case like this. When a guy my age and his dog complete vanish off the face of the Earth and his car is found running on a street corner on the other side of Long Island is Elmont, Queens I think it warrants an in depth look. As a 24 year old guy I can only think of a handful of reasons why he would vanish like this and the police need to find out what happened.
 
If someone hot-wired the car/used a screwdriver, would it be able to be turned off? Just wondering if maybe someone could have stolen this car using one of these methods and that's why it was left running.
 
mamacita said:
If someone hot-wired the car/used a screwdriver, would it be able to be turned off? Just wondering if maybe someone could have stolen this car using one of these methods and that's why it was left running.
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I recall reading that the NYPD did alot of testing on the car, looking for fingerprints, anything unusual, etc but they have never stated what if anything was found. Perhaps this indicates that the car was tampered with in some way (ie: hotwiring)?

I am curious as to what led to his disappearance. Was his car detailing business doing something less than legal on the side? Was it a date gone wrong? A set up? So many possibilities and so few answers. The more we do learn the more questions I have ... the biggest question of all is what did the cops find on his computer? Surely they had to have found the name or webpage (FB, MySpace, dating websites, etc) of the girl he was supposed to meet that night.

I don't think we will ever find out what happened to Michael Taus unless someone involved in whatever happened that night comes forward :(
 
I can't believe that Michael & Romeo are still missing, and that we know no more today than we did back then.

I just reread the whole thread and the active media links I could find, and have some thoughts.

Possible scenarios re: the "date":
(a) there was no date, the date story was a cover for another activity (drugs or ?)
(b) there was a date, but it's unrelated to Michael's disappearance (he went missing before or after(?) the date)
(c) there was a date, but something went wrong during and the other party is afraid to come forward (drug OD, accident)
(d) there was a date, but it was a set-up by someone unknown to Michael (random robbery or maybe even thrill kill)
(e) there was a date, but it was a set-up by someone known to Michael (did he really "mess with the wrong crew", or was that a meaningless comment made by someone with no inside knowledge?)

I wonder if he couldn't tell his dad about it because the date was with a married woman / or another man / or a M-F couple (threesome) / or someone in an "alternative" lifestyle (BDSM, swinging) / or ??? There are many reasons why a young man wouldn't elaborate on an upcoming date to his father, but for him to straight up say to his dad "I can't tell you" makes me go hmmm. There's a difference between private and secretive.

Thoughts on Romeo, the dog:
My husband and I have dogs, and we take them everywhere (we don't have kids, our pets are like our kids). We have friends with dogs, both male and female, single and married, who take their dogs everywhere. It's the norm (at least where I live) for people to leave their dogs in the car with the windows down while they shop / catch a movie / eat dinner / whatever. If Michael was the kind of guy to take his dog everywhere, then it wouldn't be unusual for him to take Romeo with him and leave him in the car while he went on his date. The fact that he took Romeo's bowl (if he took it) doesn't have to mean that he thought he'd be staying the night somewhere else, it might mean he wasn't sure what time he'd be getting home that night and wanted to be able to run out and feed Romeo if things went long. My husband and I have done that before.

On the 6 days between Michael going missing and his car being found running 30 miles away:
I wonder if the person(s) who left the car running on June 24 in Elmont had nothing at all to do with Michael's disappearance? Maybe they just found an unlocked car and decided to take it, KWIM? How many cases have we heard about where a perp leaves the victim's car unlocked in a bad neighborhood in hopes it will be stolen... and usually it isn't, but maybe in this case it was? The 6 day gap wouldn't trouble me so much if the car hadn't been found running - who was driving it between June 18 and June 24? If it was the person who hurt Michael, then he/she has cajones as they say.

Why haven't we heard anything from LE? When dreamweaver called them in August 2010 it sounded like they were working some leads, but obviously they didn't pan out?? What did they find in the car (fingerprints etc)? What did they find in Michael's internet and cell phone history? Do they have any idea who he was meeting up with that night? Are they keeping the family informed?

I fear that both Michael and Romeo are dead. :( These missing young men bother me, because they don't get a fraction of the coverage young women get... if Michael was female can you imagine the headlines?? "Young woman vanishes after blind date with internet mystery man" - Nancy Grace would be in a tizzy! ("Bombshell tonight...!")

Bringing forward the link to the Finding Michael Russel Taus Facebook page (no updates since July 2011):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/142643139095291/
 
so very sad...the police need to be doing more!!!!!!!!!!
 
I wonder if his bank accounts have had any activity since he and his dog vanished?

Was his dog chipped?

And lastly, why arent the police concerned about this? Is it because he's a guy?
 
I think this was the LI serial killer. I think the date was with a man escort and it ended up being the wrong man. Mo
 
Today's the first I've read about MT's disappearance. There's some very good insight on here. I think Mamacita's theory is especially credible. I guess I will add mine. All along, I've thought about this happening so near the water and someone mentioned the many boats in the area. I was imagining Michael going to a yacht party for his date. Since his father helped him pick out his clothes, maybe this particular party was supposedly more formal than those he was accustomed to. I think it would be likely that he was invited to bring Romeo along to a yacht party.

But, I'm imagining the party to be a ruse. Perhaps Michael's blind date belonged to a ring of thieves. The plan was to burglarize Michael's home and they couldn't do that with Romeo there. So, maybe there were only two or three people on the yacht, or maybe just his date, when Michael arrived. Michael was then given a drink which was drugged. Once he was unconscious, Michael's date or an accomplice removed his keys from his pocket. They didn't bother to take his charge cards, knowing they could get caught using them. After they were miles from shore, they tossed Michael overboard. Romeo may have instinctively dove into the water after Michael, or maybe someone tossed some food into the water to lure him in, too.

That scenario would explain why there has been no sign of either Michael or Romeo - not even traces of blood, I assume. The thieves would have free access to Michael's home and car. I wonder if any valuables (besides Michael and Romeo) are missing from their home? The ring of thieves may have used the car during burglaries. It would be interesting to know if there were any burglaries committed in the area the car was found, around the same time? The burglars may have left the car running for a quick getaway, but had to escape in another direction to avoid detection; or, if a getaway driver remained inside the car, maybe he quickly fled on foot when he saw LE approaching. If these are the actual circumstances, those people would certainly not want a missing man's vehicle found in their possession.

The reason why Michael's disappearance, as with the disappearances of adult males in general, does not receive the same attention as similar cases involving women and children may relate to societal stereotypes. Men are perceived as protectors; strong, invulnerable. Family members may feel embarrassed for their loved one who somehow proved vulnerable, especially if they believe their loved one suffered an ill fate at the hands of a female. Thus, family members may prefer to avoid publicity.

Just some thoughts. All MOO.
 
Another month ... where's Michael Taus? I will keep bumping this thread until he is found, dead or alive.

He is a year older than me and lived just blocks away from where I type this. I want to know what happened to him.
 
It's now almost December 2012 ... Michael Taus is still missing (as far as I know anyhow).
 
I had never heard of Michael's case. I am a proud pet parent like Michael and often take my dogs with me when I go places.

The cases where people and their dogs go missing especially touch me- and there seem to be more than you'd expect (a more recent example- Kathleen Haley- she and her boxer have both been missing from Newport News since 9/1/12- VA VA - Kathleen Haley, 37, Newport News, 1 Sept 2012 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community).

Some of you have referenced the LISK. I don't know much about that case but I thought all of his (I'm going to assume its a he for the time being) victims were women. Are there any known male victims of the LISK?
 
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