PA PA - Ray Gricar, 59, Bellefonte, 15 April 2005 - #5

[J. J. in Phila]

One thing that wasn't checked, at least so far as I know, was the area on the east side of the Susquehanna. There is both marshlands and a forested area on the other side.

 

[Dejasade]

With suicides, the body almost always surfaces eventually. It is very hard to hide your own body after death, I would think. And it is also very difficult to disappear so completely for years without being detected, especially post 9/11. My suspicions tell me foul play in this case. Unlike Royal Daniel (lawyer in Colorado) nothing defintive has come up, has it, that showed he was doing anything criminal? Royal Daniel really did a good job in vanishing but his crimes surfaced almost immediately once he was gone. He is still on the run, if alive.

I was leaning towards voluntary disappearance, but you are right...it is very hard to disappear. A good example is the guy in Washington state..Nicholas something?? Left work, abandonded his car, laptop, wallet. They at first suspected foul play, obviously, but over time it seems that law enforcement found reason to believe he was alive. what that was, not sure. Maybe social security # being used. Maybe he took out a large sum of money prior to his disappearance. Don't know. But they found him after a year maybe?

 

[hoppyfrog]

Nicholas Francisco.

 

[PaulR]

How would RFG know that someone not so close, not the IT person, would know how to destroy data on a hard drive? Why wouldn't he ask the IT guy, or his nephew, who I think runs an IT company?

Obviously he knew somehow. And if he knew someone knew how to erase data off the hard drive, why call up the IT guy or your nephew when you can ask someone who definitely knows how?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Obviously he knew somehow. And if he knew someone knew how to erase data off the hard drive, why call up the IT guy or your nephew when you can ask someone who definitely knows how?

The nephew runs a computer company. Both he and the IT guy definitely knows how. He did ask his nephew other technical questions.

Yes, obviously he asked, but why ask? It does not fit.

 

[PaulR]

The nephew runs a computer company. Both he and the IT guy definitely knows how. He did ask his nephew other technical questions.

Yes, obviously he asked, but why ask? It does not fit.

If Gricar knew that this person had recently used hard drive wiping software, why not ask them?

How does it not 'fit'? If Gricar wanted to keep it secret, he did a bad job of it.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

If Gricar knew that this person had recently used hard drive wiping software, why not ask them?

First, how did he know? Second, why not ask someone with true expertize, instead of this other person?

How does it not 'fit'? If Gricar wanted to keep it secret, he did a bad job of it.

He would have done a much worse job of keeping it a secret by asking the IT guy or his nephew.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

The Centre Daily Times article on the review:

http://www.centredaily.com/2010/04/01/1888171/review-board-lends-new-eyes.html

 

[txsleuth]

If Gricar knew that this person had recently used hard drive wiping software, why not ask them?

How does it not 'fit'? If Gricar wanted to keep it secret, he did a bad job of it.

exactly, Gricar could simply have asked a friend about erasing his hard drive prior to returning it to the county upon retirement, because he felt the friend was a bit more computer literate than he was - makes sense to me

 

[J. J. in Phila]

exactly, Gricar could simply have asked a friend about erasing his hard drive prior to returning it to the county upon retirement, because he felt the friend was a bit more computer literate than he was - makes sense to me

How would RFG know that the friend was "computer literate, to that extent?

Why didn't he mention it someone known to be computer literate, like his nephew, who runs an IT company, the county IT person, or a staffer (if known to be computer literate)?

Why would he inquire about it two years prior to his retirement?

 

[txsleuth]

JJ - where is it published that Gricar inquired about erasing the data *two years* prior.....?

 

[txsleuth]

former DA Michael Madeira had this to say - as reported in the CDT (article is no longer avail)

Madeira also revealed that Gricar's girlfriend, Patty Fornicola, had told police in the days after she reported him missing that the prosecutor had discussed buying a program that would clean the county-issue hard drive of his private information. Gricar was retiring at the end of 2005 and spoke to Fornicola of returning a clean computer back to the county, Madeira said. "She remembers Ray looking at it in a store. She believes she saw it at the house, but it wasn't there when police began looking for Ray," Madeira said. "There was no evidence of where it went, whether or not it was ever used."

 

[J. J. in Phila]

former DA Michael Madeira had this to say - as reported in the CDT (article is no longer avail)

Madeira also revealed that Gricar's girlfriend, Patty Fornicola, had told police in the days after she reported him missing that the prosecutor had discussed buying a program that would clean the county-issue hard drive of his private information. Gricar was retiring at the end of 2005 and spoke to Fornicola of returning a clean computer back to the county, Madeira said. "She remembers Ray looking at it in a store. She believes she saw it at the house, but it wasn't there when police began looking for Ray," Madeira said. "There was no evidence of where it went, whether or not it was ever used."

Which doesn't explain why he asked two other people about it about two years prior to his retirement.

There was something on that drive that RFG never wanted to see the light of day.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

JJ - where is it published that Gricar inquired about erasing the data *two years* prior.....?

A lot of things are lost. If you can find it, try WJAC, also the Lock Haven newspaper. It 12-14 months prior to RFG disappearing. I think the announcement was around 10/2008.

 

[txsleuth]

on another topic....I know I've harped about this several times on our old Court TV board but it's something that still sticks in my craw...and I'm going by what's been reported (or wasn't reported.)

*WHY* didn't Patty Fornicola call Gricar's best friend Stephen Sloane when he didn't come home that Friday evening just to see if he had seen or spoken with RG??

It just makes no sense IMO. Sloane was his best friend and Sloane stated that they spent lots of time together - after work, on weekends, etc.

Could it be that Sloane was already aware RG wasn't there, hence no need for that call?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Wrong,. I found a catched copy.

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache...rd+drive+kroll+erase&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Tex, this article was discussed when it came out on numerous boards. You may not like it, it may not fit with your theories, but it is what happened.

Though never published, I know that he talked to at least two people about it. One was not a staff member nor a family member.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

on another topic....I know I've harped about this several times on our old Court TV board but it's something that still sticks in my craw...and I'm going by what's been reported (or wasn't reported.)

*WHY* didn't Patty Fornicola call Gricar's best friend Stephen Sloane when he didn't come home that Friday evening just to see if he had seen or spoken with RG??

It just makes no sense IMO. Sloane was his best friend and Sloane stated that they spent lots of time together - after work, on weekends, etc.

Could it be that Sloane was already aware RG wasn't there, hence no need for that call?

Sloane had been in an accident, and severely injured some months before, he was recuperating. I would not be likely that RFG was out with Sloane. PEF obviously knew that, since they worked in the same office and Sloane had been out.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Here is the uncatched verision: http://www.centredaily.com/2008/10/01/v-print/874817/gricar-hard-drive-comes-up-empty.html

 

[txsleuth]

Sloane had been in an accident, and severely injured some months before, he was recuperating. I would not be likely that RFG was out with Sloane. PEF obviously knew that, since they worked in the same office and Sloane had been out.

Sloane returned to work from medical leave 2 wks after RG disappeared. I think he most likely had "recovered."

 

[hoppyfrog]

Knock of the bickering, peeps!

Hoppy