FL FL - Thomas Mascaro, 64, Ocala, 22 Feb 2013

[LivingJuicy]

Various other Ocala hiking maps:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ocala/recreation/hiking/?cid=stelprdb5192635

Alerts & Notices:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/ocala/alerts-notices

Maybe they can put something up about Thomas missing here.


Ross Prairie has a campground, has it been checked?
http://omba.org/ross-prairie-campground.html

Ocala homeless shelters:
http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/city.cgi?city=Ocala&state=FL

 

[ChrisW228]

I assume the house was locked. I didn't ask, but think I would have heard if otherwise.

No significant other, just lots of friends who are all baffled. No pets. No medical issues that we know of. I don't know about sinkholes, but it sounds like hiking off the trails could could carry lots of risks. Even if he was just off the trail and had a medical emergency, it sounds dense enough that he wouldn't have been easily seen by anyone.

Everything was checked... computer, phone, accounts, etc. No activity on anything... neither to give us a clue to any plans or to suggest that he's accessed anything for many weeks.

Thank you all, again. I'll post to all of the recommended sites ASAP.

 

[mikkismom]

I assume the house was locked. I didn't ask, but think I would have heard if otherwise.

No significant other, just lots of friends who are all baffled. No pets. No medical issues that we know of. I don't know about sinkholes, but it sounds like hiking off the trails could could carry lots of risks. Even if he was just off the trail and had a medical emergency, it sounds dense enough that he wouldn't have been easily seen by anyone.

Everything was checked... computer, phone, accounts, etc. No activity on anything... neither to give us a clue to any plans or to suggest that he's accessed anything for many weeks.

Thank you all, again. I'll post to all of the recommended sites ASAP.

ChrisW228 - prayers for your family. This may sound silly but, has the entire house been thoroughly checked? Attic/crawl space - any other odd place where someone could possibly get to? People have been found in those situations. It really sounds as if he never left the house.

jmo

 

[ChrisW228]

Yes... three of his brothers checked every inch of the house. He is definitely not in the house.

 

[Skully]

Thank you, both.

We know very little about anything. He lives alone. The trails are technically within walking distance, but another uncle from the area says he never walked to the trails... he drove to trail heads and walked from one to another. His car and bike are both in the garage, and his keys, wallet (with license and cash) and cell phone were all in the house in their usual spots.

The police searched the house with dogs and the trails by helicopter and found nothing. Family joined organized search parties all day this past Sunday and found nothing. I imagine that means outside search parties are welcome.

We contacted every group and every page and forum for the Greenways trails, themselves, that we could find. Ocala businesses have been wonderful about putting out the word and sharing it on their pages.

I'm not sure exactly who's been called/contacted. We have a very large family and everyone's doing everything and calling/e-mailing everyone they can think of. I continue to pass on every possible idea, like those you're offering. I, personally, am trying to minimize any crossover by focusing on the online resources, and his siblings, my other aunts and uncles, are working with the sheriff's office, physically searching and making phone calls.

Thank you, again.

So if the house was locked, why would he leave without keys? Something is off, there. You wouldn't leave all of your stuff behind including keys, if you want to return. I am not saying he didn't, just that is something not right.

 

[LotusPawprint]

Thank you, both.

We know very little about anything. He lives alone. The trails are technically within walking distance, but another uncle from the area says he never walked to the trails... he drove to trail heads and walked from one to another. His car and bike are both in the garage, and his keys, wallet (with license and cash) and cell phone were all in the house in their usual spots.

The police searched the house with dogs and the trails by helicopter and found nothing. Family joined organized search parties all day this past Sunday and found nothing. I imagine that means outside search parties are welcome.

We contacted every group and every page and forum for the Greenways trails, themselves, that we could find. Ocala businesses have been wonderful about putting out the word and sharing it on their pages.

I'm not sure exactly who's been called/contacted. We have a very large family and everyone's doing everything and calling/e-mailing everyone they can think of. I continue to pass on every possible idea, like those you're offering. I, personally, am trying to minimize any crossover by focusing on the online resources, and his siblings, my other aunts and uncles, are working with the sheriff's office, physically searching and making phone calls.

Thank you, again.

Hi Chris - I'm so sorry your family is going through this. WS is a great place for resources and wonderful people.

Does your Uncle live near any businesses or any main roads or are is it mostly trails and wooded area? Has the sheriff's office canvassed local businesses or homes for potential surveillance footage?


Do you know if your Uncle's car is working or might it not be operational or could it have been out of gas -- any possibility he would need to take alternate form of transportation (ie, bus? cab?)


Enough can't be said about Texas EquuSearch, they are wonderful. They have to be invited in by your family or the local authorities and they will work WITH the local authorities, not in place of them. Certainly worth looking into.
http://texasequusearch.org/report-a-person-missing/

Hoping for the best for your family and your Uncle Tom!

 

[margarita25]

Hope your uncle is found safe Chris.

 

[Cagle]

Is this a retirement community he lives in? I know there are several in Ocala.

Another person who just "vanished" was just found in his attic. Has anyone searched his attic?

 

[michmi]

Yes, please - if they could go through the house 1 more time, any attic, crawlspaces, closets, etc. The person Cagle just referred to was missed by 2 police searches and he was in his attic.

 

[ChrisW228]

I'm sorry I haven't been back in a while. I neglected my job a lot the first week that we searched so hard, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Then I also got sick last week, too.

Skully, he had a key hidden outdoors and that is gone. They used a metal detector over the entire area to make sure it didn't just get moved. We guess/hope he just took that key.

I live in PA and he lived in FL, so I can't personally search anything. His brothers felt very certain he isn't in the house, and between that and the dogs... By the time the dogs were brought in, they think he was missing 2-4 weeks. We have obvious reasons to believe people or dogs would have found him by now. Having been in his previous home countless times, I can say for sure that he lived very simply. It isn't a situation where there'd be a lot in closets or an attic for a person to be concealed by.

We believe the car is/was fine. He had just bought it a few months prior. I don't know specifics re: how much they checked the car... just that it was parked, as normal. Knowing his brothers, I'd be surprised if they didn't check those things. One of the brothers who searched is a "car guy".

Same with canvassing and surveillance. I know they canvassed and searched a lot, but don't know specifics. The family in direct contact with the sheriff's office couldn't say enough nice things about the level of their response.

He lived in the midst of what looks like some major roads. There's a map on https://www.facebook.com/FindTomMascaro where an aunt who knows the area helped me mark the corner where he lived and shows where the trail runs right against his neighborhood.

I don't think he lives in a retirement community, but I'm not sure. I think it's just a regular residential neighborhood, from the sounds of it.

Thank you again for all of the resources, suggestions and well wishes.

 

[swanniee11]

I'm confused about the hidden outside key. I always thought you left it there for when you return home, not take the key with you? This is very odd, if he did go for a walk, I wouldn't think he would have taken the key along on the walk but used it when he got home. The key is missing and the house is locked? Did anyone (neighbors, emergency contacts know about the outside key? IMO

 

[ChrisW228]

We're just making guesses about the key, from our own habits.

We have a key in a lock-box that some family and friends have the code to. When I walk the dog, I only put a single key in my back pocket, because my everyday key chain is attached to wristlet. Being a single key, I loose it often so I just pull the one from the lock-box a lot, too. I can't explain why I take it with me... I just do. It's just a quirk that I never leave the house without a key, a debit card and my ID.

The siblings who knew his hiking habits pretty well think he took that key along hiking, and then left it outside for any other time he may find himself locked out.

All just guesswork, as I know these things always are.

These is just nothing at all to indicate that anyone else was in the home. Nothing is disturbed. Money in plain site was still there. Nothing valuable is missing.

He really just vanished without a trace.

 

[Coldpizza]

Thanks for checking in ChrisW228, I'm so sorry he hasn't been found yet.

 

[chickenboxer8]

Checking to see if there's any news ... Praying his friends and family find him safe

 

[ChrisW228]

No news at all.

The police still consider it an active case, but nothing at all has given them any new direction to pursue.

 

[Cagle]

This is just so odd. I check every day for a news story & see no press keeping it active.

 

[margarita25]

Chris, please tell us if there is anything we can do to help.

 

[Cracka*Jaxx]

I just saw this. My mother has lived at Oak Run- one of the older sections- for about 25 years now. It's hard to imagine someone missing from this area because it's a very nice, over 55 gated community. The lots are small and the houses are right next to one another, so I'm surprised that none of the neighbors saw anything unusual. I couldn't even venture a guess about what could have happened here.

 

[margarita25]

Chris, any news on your uncle?

 

[ChrisW228]

Sorry I haven't been around in a while. As I guess most people do, we're just moving on with life. No, no word on him. The family is doing what needs to be done with regard to his property and such, but we appear to be at a dead end in so far as leads to look for him.

Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers and ideas.