Alaska serial killer Israel Keyes update

Feds hike body-count of Alaska serial killer Israel Keyes
NEW JERSEY VICTIM UPDATE PUBLISHED HERE
DID HE MURDER THE MCSTAY FAMILY TOO? 

The death toll has risen to nearly a dozen confirmed slayings now, but the investigation into the deceased serial murderer's trail of blood is hardly closed, FBI spokesmen announced today.

The Bureau has also provided a revised travel timeline for the highly mobile killer Keyes, and their new one not only ominously stretches overseas, it's interactive.

Many of the thus-far nameless victims being sought by authorities were gradually hinted at by Keyes himself while incarcerated for the rape, murder and dismemberment of Alaskan teen Samantha Koenig in 2012.

But he killed himself in his jail cell before agents could extract the precise details of his decade-long murder spree.

So once again they're asking for the public's aid in identifying and locating victims of the Alaska serial killer.

You can read all about this fiendish "murder addict" and his numerous misdeeds in my original coverage below (last updated 12/12/12). Use the search box for additional references, including the case of Colin Gillis, still listed as missing from Keyes' neck of the woods in upstate NY. 

FBI requests public’s help with

dead serial killer, Israel Keyes

 
He is proving to be one of the most criminally insane serial killers of all time, with an unprecedented crime spree that includes rape, murder, dismemberment, arson, and bank robbery.

But, thankfully, Israel Keyes’ decade-long, cross-country reign of terror, which even involved burying caches of weapons, money and other materials for preplanned homicides, has officially come to an end this winter:

He committed suicide in an Alaskan jail the first week of December 2012, leaving behind a blood-soaked note currently being analyzed by the FBI. >

In so doing, Keyes executed his last sadistic act on humanity, slamming the door forever on a tenuous and terrible dialog investigators had necessarily established with him while he was in custody awaiting trial for brutally slaying a teenage girl in Alaska.

It was an arduous process getting the 34-year-old psychopath to come clean about his crimes, and throughout these interviews Keyes displayed a distinctly unfunny sense of humor which agents had feigned to be entertained by, in hopes of extracting from Keyes all the locations, names and details of his unknown victims.

But they didn’t succeed at this gruesome task in time. 

Felonies for fun 

Israel Keyes was a trained U.S. soldier in the 1990s stationed at some point in the Middle East, and when he finally returned from his tour of duty he set himself up first as a handyman and later as a construction contractor, cunningly inventing a cover for cruelties he would keep well-hidden from his wife, child, friends and neighbors.

In the construction industry he had an ideal profession, one that would give him the perfect excuse for traveling the countryside at length in search of unlucky individuals and couples to torture and kill.

It was a double life Keyes had led up until his capture in 2012; an elaborate ruse he "enjoyed" immensely within which he was able to make every state in the Union his hunting ground, and every kind of American citizen his game.

And in his capacity as a self-styled, roving serial murderer, Keyes was to be indiscriminate; he killed females, he killed males, he killed the old and the young. 

Madness to his methods 

Although Keyes was classified as an 'organized' serial murderer for his coolheaded, coldblooded criminology, at the time he was apprehended by authorities he was already descending into killer chaos of the “disorganized” variety: Targeting pairs and couples for prey, and breaking his own rules in obtaining these hard-to-get victims by killing on his home turf, using his own vehicle, and stealing victims’ credit cards to fund his adventures and travels.

This is how he got himself snared, fortunately, and it’s not that uncommon either—crafty Ted Bundy’s mental faculties also rapidly deteriorated toward the end, until he was killing solely by maniacal compulsion and leaving at his crime scenes a long and bloody trail.

Bundy too had started spilling the beans while he was incarcerated and facing death in the electric chair, and it’s believed that he did, by his last breath, tell investigators everything. More or less without the kind of exaggerations that some of his ilk are wont to do once they’re thrust into the spotlight.

Israel Keyes studied up on the likes of Bundy, he told his interrogators, but he also made it very clear to them that he was nobody’s copycat.

The chilling kills he did admit to doing show such boasts might just be true.

However, Keyes did not tell all before he expired, and, rest assured, those awful murders which he did confess to committing were not the embellished accounts or fabrications of a delusional madman perversely seeking adulation. Each and every one of these have so far been corroborated in follow ups by police. Right down to the minutest detail.

But there’s much more that Keyes had alluded to in his final days, and he was ever so slowly revealing the course of these hellish journeys and acts he undertook, before his cowardly end left investigators hanging.

So the FBI is now urgently requesting the public’s assistance in solving the half-told horrors Israel Keyes committed as he drove and flew from state to state, deliberately targeting remote areas such as campsites, boat launches, and parks to lurk in and kill. 

An urgent appeal from the FBI: 

"Mary Rook, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the state of Alaska, requests the public’s assistance in developing information concerning the travels of suspected serial killer Israel Keyes, deceased, in order to identify additional victims. Anyone with information concerning Keyes is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

"Based upon investigation conducted following his arrest in March 2012, Israel Keyes is believed to have committed multiple kidnappings and murders across the country between 2001 and March 2012. Keyes lived in Washington from 2001 to March 2007, at which time he moved to Alaska. While living in Alaska, Keyes worked as a general contractor but traveled extensively. In a series of interviews with law enforcement, Keyes described significant planning and preparation for his murders, reflecting a meticulous and organized approach to his crimes. It was not unusual for Keyes to fly into an airport, rent a car, and drive hundreds of miles to his final destination. This was the case in the murder of Bill and Loraine Currier, where Keyes flew into Chicago, rented a car, and drove across several states before arriving in Essex, Vermont. After the murder of the Curriers, Keyes continued his travels on the east coast before returning to Chicago and then to Alaska.

"Keyes admitted responsibility for robbing several banks during this timeframe, two of which investigators have corroborated. Keyes used the proceeds from his bank robberies to pay for his travel, along with money he made as a general contractor. Keyes also admitted traveling to various locations to leave supplies he planned to use in a future crime. Keyes buried caches throughout the United States. The FBI has recovered two caches buried by Keyes—one in Eagle River, Alaska, and one near Blakes Falls Reservoir in New York. The caches contained weapons and other items used to dispose of bodies. Keyes indicated the other caches he buried throughout the U.S. contain weapons, money, and items used to dispose of victims.

“Investigators believe that Keyes did not know any of his victims prior to their abductions. He described several remote locations that he frequented to look for victims—parks, campgrounds, trailheads, cemeteries, boating areas, etc. Keyes also told investigators that prior to the Currier case, his victims’ disappearances received little if any media coverage. Based on his own research, Keyes stated that one of his victims has been recovered but authorities ruled the death accidental. Investigators have not identified this victim or where this crime occurred.

"Keyes admitted to murdering four people in Washington; he killed two people (independent of each other) sometime during 2005 and 2006 and murdered a couple in Washington between 2001 and 2005. It is unknown if these victims were residents of Washington or if they were vacationing in Washington but resided in another state. It is also possible Keyes abducted them from a nearby state and transported them to Washington.

"Additionally, Keyes admitted to investigators that in 2009 he murdered a victim on the east coast and disposed of the body in New York State. Based on Keyes’ statements, investigators believe Keyes abducted the victim from a surrounding state and transported him/her to New York.

"The timeline below is an outline of Keyes’ travels and whereabouts throughout the United States from 2001 to present. Due to Keyes’ pattern of traveling significant distances by car, the locations are grouped by region rather than specific states." 

  ·         October 5, 2004 to October 16, 2004: Eastern US

·         April 20, 2005 to April 25, 2005: Washington, British Columbia

·         May 10, 2006 to May 15, 2006: Western US

·         September 1, 2006 to September 7, 2006: Alaska

·         October 21, 2006 to October 23, 2006: Western US, Mexico

·         November 8, 2006 to November 16, 2006: Alaska

·         February 5, 2007 to February 8, 2007: Southwest US

·         March 1, 2007 to March 9, 2007: Washington, Canada (drove to Alaska)

·         April 24, 2007 to May 4, 2007: Western US, Mexico

·         August 26, 2007 to September 6, 2007: Western US

·         October 29, 2007 to November 2, 2007: Western US

·         November 12, 2007 to November 13, 2007: Western US

·         12/April 2007 to 12/17/2007: Midwest and Western US

·         01/May, 2008 to 01/08/2008: Western US

·         01/28/2008 to 02/15/2008: Southern U.S. and Western US

·         May, 11/2008 to May, 17/2008: Western US

·         07/03/2008 to 07/07/2008: Western US

·         09/16/2008 to 09/24/2008: Western US

·         October 24/2008 to November 5, 2008: Southwest US, Midwest U.S. and Western US

·         December 5, 2008 to December 7, 2008: Hawaii

·         December 11, 2008 to December 25, 2008: Mexico

·         February 23, 2009 to February 27, 2009: Western US

·         April 1, 2009 to April 14, 2009: Eastern US, Western US

·         09/11/2009 to October 03/2009: Southern US

·         December 17, 2009 to December 29, 2009: Southern US

·         January 11, 2010 to February 25, 2010: Western US

·         March 1, 2010 to March 10, 2010: Western US

·         April 24, 2010 to April 30, 2010: Western US

·         May 19, 2010 to July 18, 2010: Midwest U.S. and Western US

·         July 18, 2010 to July 22, 2010: Southwest US

·         October 15, 2010 to October 25, 2010: Midwest US, Eastern US

·         June 2, 2011 to June 16, 2011: Midwest US, Eastern US

·         September 15, 2011 to September 25, 2011: Western US

·         February 2, 2012 to February 18, 2012: Southern US

·         March 6, 2012 to March 13, 2012: Southwestern and Southern US

If you have information contact 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Posted 12/3/12 by: FBI Anchorage,

Special Agent Eric Gonzalez (907) 276-4441

The "Sunil Tripathi is Missing" Hype

When there are so many young men whose suspicious disappearances aren't being investigated, why the costly hunt for a suicidal college-dropout who's made it clear to his wealthy family he doesn't want to be found...?

 

The beguiling 'Find Sunil Tripathi' Facebook campaign that instantly transformed a mundane family melodrama into a major missing-persons saga not only showcases the value of mastering social media, but also the disparity in the way rich and poor are treated by the press and police agencies.

 

To wit: From the start, 22-year-old Sunny Tripathi, the son of a wealthy software CEO, has been shrewdly marketed by his tech-savvy family as a "missing Brown student" who mysteriously vanished one brisk March morning while strolling his college campus.

 

In reality, however, this young man isn't missing, per se, and he's not a student at Brown University either...read more

 

DOUBLE THE MONEY: the search for Colin Gillis

UPDATE 4/29/13 - click/read/share: "MYSTERY AT TUPPER LAKE"

 

They may have abandoned the notion of ever finding their loved one alive again, but they've never forsaken him.

 

In fact the family of missing upstate New Yorker, Colin Gillis, is as determined as ever and have even increased the reward they're offering to $25,000, in hopes of bringing him home once and for all.

 

Gillis, 18 and a pre-med student at SUNY Brockport, was visiting his hometown in the Adirondacks during Spring Break in March of 2012.

He was last sighted leaving a party in Tupper Lake on foot, heading along highway 3 toward his parent's residence in nearby Piercefield a few miles away.

But he never made it.

 

The hunt for him throughout the following days and weeks was one of the most comprehensive ever launched for a missing person in this mountainous region of woodlands, waterways and swamps.

 

In all, thousands of acres and searchers were involved in the rescue effort, and even soldiers from the neighboring military base provided tactical support. Yet all that was ever found of the young man was one shoe and a driver's license...

 

Colin Gillis is described as a Caucasian male approximately six-feet tall and 180 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. When last seen, he was wearing a black and white striped shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers, and was carrying (or wearing) a reversible black and red L.L. Bean jacket together with an orange and black day pack.

Anyone with any information at all as to what became of him is urged to contact the Ray Brook State Police headquarters at 518-897-2000, or the DEC dispatch at 518-897-1300.

 

NOTE: I will be covering this missing person case more extensively in the upcoming feature article titled  'Mystery At Tupper Lake" but in the interim you can read more details concerning the Gillis disappearance, as well as the reward terms, here, and by using this site's search box.

 

DEAD IN THE WATER: new evidence, new rulings

In November 1981, during a dragged out and drunken argument with her husband on his yacht The Splendour, 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood "accidentally" fell overboard and drowned. Her angry, soused spouse, actor Robert Wagner, then waited almost two full hours before reporting his wife missing. Shortly thereafter rescue personnel fished Wood's lifeless body out of the Pacific Ocean--covered front to back with bruises and lacerations, some of them "fresh," some "recent," some a "day old" or more.

 

Three decades later, based upon those suspicious injuries and the tireless pursuit for justice by the victim's family, authorities finally relented and overturned the determination that Natalie Wood drowned by "accident." They are now investigating her death as a likely homicide, with Robert Wagner the prime suspect.

 

In November 2012, under circumstances yet to be determined, Joshua Swalls, 22, went missing in Indianapolis. A few days later, after one of his shoes was discovered on the bank of a nearby retention pond, divers searched the small body of water but found nothing in it. Nevertheless, three weeks later someone sighted Swalls' body floating there and the cadaver was then sent to the coroner's office for examination. He had only been in the water for approximately 7 to 10 days, they say...

 

Unlike Wood, Swalls was found to have no drugs or alcohol in his system, yet he too had a number of bruises and lacerations which he'd received before dying. Namely “contusions of the right forehead and eyebrow, bridge of nose, and right zygomatic arch in the shape of  a reverse C, continuous” with an “abrasion of tip of nose” and “abraded contusions to kneecaps, bilateral and to shins, multiple bilateral, with one underlying a tear in the left pants leg.”

 

The Marion County Coroner's Office has been asked to revisit their autopsy findings, and is pondering now whether in fact Josh Swalls' death was truly accidental. Yet the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department still adamantly insists it was and refuses to investigate.

 

As part of my continuing efforts to assist the Swalls family in obtaining justice for their murdered son, I did a comparative analysis of both the Wood and Swalls drowning events including their autopsies, which was published this week on Crime Magazine. Help keep the pressure on the Indy authorities: Read DEAD IN THE WATER, and share the info in it with everyone.
 

 

UP NEXT: 'Mystery At Tupper Lake'

 

 

A missing youth and a dead serial killer. Are they connected?

 

 

MISSING PERSON ALERT: Cole Rupard, 28, from Indiana

UPDATE: 12/15/12 "FOUND SAFE"

 

The loved ones of Cole Rupard report that "Cole has been found and is safe with his family at the moment." There are no other details available at this time. Rupard vanished in late November 2012. However, apart from posters, his missing persons case was kept low profile by those searching for him at the request of law enforcement. This gives the impression that there may have been mitigating factors involved with his disappearance. 

 

 

 

Cole Rupard, 28, was last seen on November 20th, 2012 in the vicinity of Indianapolis. He is six-foot-four with red hair and hazle eyes, and drives a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu with the license plate 922NIL.

 

According to reports his roommate was the last known person to see Rupard before he disappeared. Since then, there has been no cellphone or bank account activities.

 

Rupard is from Noblesville, Indiana. If you see him or his vehicle please call Detective Saddler of the Noblesville Police Department at 317-776-6342. (Click the poster to enlarge.)

 

ALERT CANCELLED:  "FOUND SAFE"

 

Stop Smiley

2 0 1 2

 

Joshua Swalls, David Gerken, Jonathan Dailey, Matthew Ward, Colin Gillis, Tom Hecht, Nathan Bihlmaier, Franco Garcia, Harsha Maddula, Michael Philbin, Eric Duffey, Philipp Patnaude, Tyler Blalock...

 

 

Somebody's Son Has Vanished

Joshua Swalls Is Still Missing

 

It's sad but true that if a young man does enough evil in this world today--as Austin Sigg did in brutally murdering schoolgirl Jessica Ridgeway last October--then all the world will give him the attention he craves for being so hopelessly craven.

 

But if a young man simply goes missing, or becomes the victim of an act of foul play, the media shows very little interest in his case. 

 

And, often, neither do the police.

 

Joshua Swalls, 22, vanished without a trace from Indianapolis, Indiana between November 3rd and 4th, 2012. He is somebody's son, brother and friend, and, whether the youth is alive or dead now, his people are still desperately searching for him.

 

If you have stumbled onto this weblog while holiday shopping this season, please take a good look at Josh's photograph above to see if you have ever met or glimpsed this young man before, and also consider sharing this post online as well. His missing persons case deserves more coverage than it is currently receiving.

 

Somebody, somewhere, somehow will recognize Joshua Swalls, or, alternately, knows what happened to prevent him from enjoying Thanksgiving with his family this year. (There is also a previous post about this case below, with additional information and photographs.)

 

Thanks for dropping by today--happy holidays to you and yours, from Eponymous Rox and KILLING KILLERS.

 

 

MISSING: Joshua Swalls, 22

Joshua Swalls, 22, vanished without a trace from a friend's apartment in Indianapolis where he was staying this month. He was last seen in the early morning hours of November 4th, 2012. Police say they recently found a shoe in the vicinity of the residential complex which they believe may belong to the missing young man. Divers then fruitlessly searched for Swalls' body in the nearby retention pond for approximately an hour.

 

How did they know to do that?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE CASE OF THE DROWNING MEN

 

10 tips for eluding the Smiley Face killers

The unexplained disappearance and *drowning* of 26-year-old David Gerken, after he was mysteriously evicted from the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park New York en route to the bathroom, is the classic 'Smiley Face Killer' motif.

Because there have now been hundreds of similar deaths, beginning with young Patrick McNeill's in 1997, and since there doesn't seem to be any end in sight to the carnage, it's time for those who match the standard victim profile in these cases to learn how to avoid falling prey. Study the following fact sheet and tips carefully, and be safe.

SMILEY VICTIMOLOGY: Are you a popular, clean-cut, slim and athletic, college-age male, between 17 and 30, planning an evening out with your friends? Then pay close attention to the details of Gerken's disappearance and drowning, because your description--like his--is identical with approximately 95% of the Smiley Face victims:

David Gerken, 26, was just named 'Employee of the Month' at his workplace where he had risen to the rank of foreman. Responsible and well-liked, he was attending a Bills' game with his brother and a friend last Thursday. They report he drank only two beers while there, and hadn't been in any altercations with anyone, prior to being intercepted on his way to the men's room and ordered to leave the stadium.

Additionally, Gerken expected to go to work the very next day and under those circumstances he customarily wouldn't have engaged in heavy *drinking. This is important to note since, in nearly all of these cases, alcohol is ruled a major factor leading to "accidental drowning" whether or not any had been consumed. (*Toxicology tests will always show the presence of alcohol in dead bodies because it is a byproduct of decay, and is often accelerated in corpses that have been submersed for a period of time.)

Once Gerken had gone outdoors, he immediately called his brother to inform him he'd been forced to leave the premises and said he didn't know why. He then calmly arranged for the three to meet up again at the nearby Tailgaters bar after the game had ended.

That was the last anybody heard from him. The final GPS tracking signal on his cell phone was for a location two miles from the sports arena, and his body was ultimately discovered by family searchers floating face down in Smokes Creek--the opposite direction of Tailgaters and a destination that required scaling numerous obstacles to get at, as well as a tall fence. Police have tentatively ruled Gerken's death an accident.

SMLEY'S MODUS OPERANDI: A young man is separated from his friends somehow--usually asked to leave an establishment by management personnel, although he is not outwardly intoxicated. Once he's gone outside, typically he will cell-phone one or more from his party to explain the odd incident to them and to arrange for a meeting place. He then goes missing instead and is found drowned in a nearby river, lake, pond or stream, some days, weeks or months later. On occasion, as with 18-year-old pre-med student Colin Gillis from Tupper Lake NY last March, he is never seen or heard from again.

Police almost always determine NSOFP (no signs of foul play), sometimes well in advance of finding a body. In a few extreme cases, say when  a corpse was actually recovered weighted down with a chain and cinder block (e.g. Jonathan Dailey/October 2012), or showed other indications that the deceased didn't "fall" into the water naturally, then investigators will pursue a theory of suicide. It is also not uncommon for parents to be told by the authorities that their sons died as a result of auto-assassination (reckless behavior symptomatic of a death wish). 

KILLING SEASON: Annually, from the months of September to April. Once in awhile it may extend without interruption into late spring.

KILL ZONE: Maine to the Dakotas and all parts in between; now also reaching across the border into Canada as well as a few more southerly districts of the United States. Some metropolitan hotspots in the US kill zone include but are not limited to Boston, New York, Lacrosse, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee, but essentially any town or city in a state traversed by the east/west interstate highways of 90 and 94 is in the high risk area.

RUIN SMILEY'S DAY: Follow these tips to minimize the danger of vanishing into thin air one night and ending up another unsolved "drowned" statistic:

1. Buddy up at all times. Safety in numbers is the name of the game, before, during and after a night out on the town.

2. Scrap the hoodie attire. Too many people think it makes young men look like...well...hoods, quite frankly. And, considering the percentage of Smiley Face victims who were wearing this particular piece of apparel when they went missing, a hooded sweatshirt should be regarded as a significant liability. (Ditto for flip-flops, and any other type of shoe not suitable for running in.)

3. Watch what you're drinking--never drink from someone else's bottle or glass, especially if you don't know them. This includes any liquid whatsoever (or substance) being offered by a female you might've just met.

4. If you are asked to leave an establishment ... get all 10 TIPS IN ALL, PLUS SMILEY CASE SPOTLIGHTS, UPDATES & MORE HERE OR HERE & find a full forensic analysis of the famous 'Smiley Face Serial Murder Theory' in:THE CASE OF THE DROWNING MEN, illustrated or plain text eBook editions.

Because you really can't see what you're not looking for.

Police renew search for missing college student

 

The Search For Colin Gillis Is On Again

A classic 'Smiley Face' murder - but no body



With hunting season about to go full speed, New York State Police and officers from the Department of Environmental Conservation in the Tupper Lake region have renewed their efforts to locate the now-19-year-old Colin Gillis, calling on hunters to assist them in finding articles of the young man's clothing, or worse, even his body.

 

Missing since March of 2012, Gillis was home for spring break and had attended a party with his friends on the evening of March 10th. He is said to have left that event alone on foot in the early morning hours of March 11th and was last sighted by a passing motorist walking along Route 3 in the direction of his family’s nearby Piercefield home.

He never made it there.

The eyewitness, a local newsman driving his elderly mother to her residence in the town of Tupper Lake, had promptly driven to the nearest police station to report that he’d observed a young man (who would later match Gillis’ description) apparently in “distress” and “flailing his arms” to oncoming traffic. Police said they immediately went to the area in question but, by the time they got there, the youth, presumed now to be Gillis, had already vanished.

In the days and weeks following his mysterious disappearance, numerous law enforcement agencies and nearly a 1000 community members searched over 2000 acres of Adirondack woodland as well as all the nearby waterways, but there was no sign of Gillis. There was also no indication anywhere of someone having fallen through the ice and drowning either, by now an established pattern of death in these strange disappearances of college-age men in the I-90 and I-94 corridor, since 1997.

Oddly enough, the only item belonging to Collin Gillis which was recovered in the massive ground and air rescue attempt was his driver's license, clearly indicating that he’d been asked for identification by whomever it was that had stopped him that darkened morning. It’s obvious too that Gillis did in fact produce a picture ID 'on the spot' for the yet unknown subject or subjects involved, because his license was found at the side of the very highway he’d last been observed walking on before he went missing.

Gillis was a pre-med student in his sophomore year at Brockport University and is described as 6’1” tall, 170 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was clothed in a black and white striped shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers, and was carrying (or wearing) a reversible black and red L.L. Bean jacket together with an orange and black day pack.

Foul play is strongly suspected in the Gillis disappearance and therefore the official inquiry into it remains active and the search status labeled as “continuous”. This means, in addition to an ongoing but sporadic investigation, exercises and drills are also being routinely conducted in and around the location the victim was last known to have been at between March 10th and March 11th, 2012.

“In the past, we’ve had hunters come across things that have helped us locate people,” DEC spokesperson David Winchell explained last week.

The Gillis family is also offering a substantial financial reward for their loved one’s return or for information about what may have happened to him. Although heartbroken and worried, they remain optimistic. “We are still hopeful and we await Colin's arrival every day," his brother Lyndon recently stated. 

With late autumn baring the trees and a wider range of visibility as a result, it is hoped that savvy outdoorsman may more easily spy something of interest as they prowl the woods for game this season.

Anybody who does come across such items, or who has any information at all concerning the Collin Gillis case, is asked to contact Ray Brook State Police headquarters at 518-897-2000, or the DEC dispatch at 518-897-1300. 
 

 

MISSING PERSON: $10,000 Reward

One of law enforcement’s major arguments against the popular theory of a serial killer targeting college-age men for death-by-drowning in the northern corridor of the United States is that, not infrequently, two or more victims in different states go missing in the same timeframe, or even within only a few hours of each other.

In the spring of 2005, both Todd Geib and Josh Snell mysteriously disappeared in this manner, each phoning a cryptic SOS to their friends before their cellphones went dead, and each later found drowned in nearby bodies of water.

So too, victims Sylvester McCurry (of Wisconsin), Eric Peterson (of Minnesota) and Jon Lacina (of Iowa) all vanished in early 2010 between the 19th and 22nd of January, and likewise perished.

This, however, just doesn’t fit a serial killer’s motif, the experts adamantly insist—serial killers don’t target able-bodied young males, they don’t drown their victims, they don’t kill more than one at a time, and they don’t operate in groups, either. A group of killers being implied in this case for these alleged abductions to be occurring simultaneously over such a broad region…

In March of this year, 26-year-old Tom Hecht of Milwaukee Wisconsin and 18-year-old Colin Gillis of Upstate New York vanished on the same night. Both men somehow becoming separated from their friends in the wee small hours of morning, and both exhaustively searched for by their loved ones, volunteers from the community, and police agencies, in the days and weeks that followed.

Tom Hecht was ultimately discovered drowned, as fits a troubling pattern in hundreds of these cases, but Colin Gillis was never heard from again.

The pre-med student from Brockport University had briefly come home from college to visit for Spring Break. His family said that Gillis was in typically good spirits and especially looking forward to seeing some of his old high school friends at a large gathering planned for the evening of March 10th, 2012.

According to eyewitness reports, Gillis eventually left that party on foot early in the morning of March 11th,  and he was last seen shortly thereafter walking on State Route 3 between the villages of Tupper Lake and Piercefield, where his family resides.

It was, in fact, an area newspaper reporter who happened to be driving his mother home who last spotted the young man “walking against the traffic” and “flailing his arms” as if signaling for help. It was a frigid hour to be walking but, because the reporter’s mother was elderly, the man didn't feel it prudent to stop and offer Gillis any assistance. He did however, promptly drive to the nearest police station to file a report concerning the incident.

Police state they then immediately drove out to the area in question and searched for the individual themselves, but they say by the time they arrived there the young man was already gone. Massive efforts to find Gillis began on the very next day, and, in the frantic weeks and months following his bizarre disappearance, thousands of volunteers and professionals scoured thousands of square miles of land and water, in hopes of rescuing him.

State Police have since downgraded the official search for Colin Gillis to “Limited Continuous” and say they have not ruled out foul play in the matter. They urge anyone with information about this missing person to telephone them at 518-897-2000. Additionally, the Gillis family is offering $10,000 for his return. To view the specific terms of this reward and to find more updates visit http://www.facebook.com/colingillissearchupdates

Gillis  is described as a white male, about 6 feet tall and170 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white shirt with black stripes, blue jeans and red sneakers.  It’s now been over four excruciating months since the Gillis family has seen their loved one.  Help find Colin Gillis, and bring the young man home.