ACROSS THE POND: Manchester's Serial 'Pusher' Drowns 29th Victim

Fears across the pond about a serial killer dubbed 'The Pusher' have heightened again, now that another drowned man has surfaced in a Manchester UK canal.

The body of "a white middle-aged male" was found floating in a Greater Manchester spillway over the weekend, making his "unexplained" drowning one of dozens that have occurred in the past several years.

Manchester cops and coroners have ruled the cold-weather drowning deaths of at least 29 of these "mostly young male victims" as due to "undetermined" causes, in many cases also labeling their missing persons cases "suspicious."

In fact, in 2015 local officials acknowledged in a YouTube public-service presentation intended to allay serial murder fears that "some" of their drowned men had indeed been "deliberately pushed" by an unknown assailant.

Manchester UK's elusive serial Pusher allegedly has been active since 2008, but a couple of high profile disappearances and drownings of male college students in 2011 and 2012 brought national attention to the case:

On New Year's day 2012, young design student Souvik Pal vanished without a trace, after bar bouncers physically removed him from the Warehouse Project Club in Trafford Park.

Minutes after, surveillance cameras captured images of the teen being escorted on foot by an *unidentified* man, after which Pal was never seen alive again. 

The body of the 18-year-old "excellent swimmer" was pulled from the Bridgewater Canal system almost a month later; and a medical examiner then left his case open and unsolved when she couldn't determine how he'd entered the water.

Pal joins the ranks of numerous other young men who also "got separated" from their friends and subsequently met a chilly end in Manchester waterways.

For instance, 21-year-old athlete and sports trainer Nathan Tomlinson likewise vanished while visiting a city pub after dark during the winter holidays.

His  body was fished out of the River Irwell in February 2011, two months after he went missing.

In all, some seven-dozen victims like Tomlinson and Pal have been pulled from the area's icy canals and rivers in as many years.

Although the majority of these were ruled "accidental," far too many others disappeared and drowned under circumstances which were clearly so questionable that even crime experts are now subscribing to the serial Pusher theory.

Birmingham City University professor and criminologist Craig Jackson is just one of many who have been expressing similar beliefs that "it's unlikely" all of Manchester's water fatalities could be "accidents or suicides."

And in a recent United Kingdom news documentary titled Manchester's Serial Killer? a senior police detective also outlined the body of evidence which supports a contention that the multiple drownings are intentional homicides.

The Case of The Drowning Men first came to light in the United States during the late 1990s.

Since then, hundreds of young males of every race, creed and nationality have suddenly gone missing, only to be found drowned days, weeks or months later in rivers, lakes, ponds, streams ... and canals.

America calls its pushers 'The Smiley Face Killers' but, by whatever moniker they're called, the standard operating procedure appears to be the same.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing Persons Alert for Michael Ortega, 21 of New Jersey

Shown in the recent photo below, Michael Ortega has been missing from New Jersey since January 19, 2016.

The 21-year-old was last seen in his Jersey City neighborhood and reported missing shortly after.

His long disappearance, without even contacting loved ones by either cell phone or email, is considered extremely unusual -- after being gone without a trace for well over a week now, they're worried for his safety.

Michael Ortega is a clean-cut, light-skinned Hispanic male standing about 5-foot-9 and weighing just over 200 pounds. He has wavy dark hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a gray long-sleeve hoodie when he vanished.

Family members say they last saw their missing young man on January 19th in the vicinity of Hague Street and Summit Avenue in the Jersey City Heights section.

It appears he left home without taking his wallet, ID, bank cards, cash, or car keys.

Anybody who knows where Ortega is today or what happened to him is asked to alert the Jersey City Police Department's missing persons unit at (201) 547-5427, or (201) 547-5424.

Eponymous Rox

Missing Hoboken Man Matt Genovese Found Drowned in Hudson River

Police say a corpse pulled from the Hudson River is that of Matt Genovese, 24 of Hoboken New Jersey.

Genovese disappeared this weekend after leaving McSwiggan's Pub where he and his friends had gathered on Saturday night as a major blizzard was blanketing the region.

He left his group on foot just before midnight, telling them he was heading back to his apartment approximately ten blocks west of the bar.

But he never made it home again.

For some reason those friends now believe Matthew Genovese had, instead, walked east toward the Hudson River immediately upon departing from McSwiggan's.

No one knows yet whether he may have been intending to visit someone in that neighborhood, or if whiteout conditions got him turned around and he lost his bearings.

Colleagues reported him missing on Monday, when he failed to show up for work.

During this week's search for the missing Wall Streeter -- and despite record snowfall and accumulations -- a Hoboken cop said he found the missing man's billfold on the ground near the waterfront at Pier A.

"All his cash, credit cards, IDs were all still in the wallet," the officer disclosed, adding that the body of Matt Genovese was retrieved from the river still wearing the same clothes he wore on the night he'd vanished.

Police are declining to posit a theory as to how he could have ended up in the water, citing their ongoing investigation. But the 24-year-old isn't the first young man in Hoboken NJ to drown there in cold weather:

In late March of 2014, marathon runner Andrew Jarzyk disappeared during a predawn jog on the promenade. His body was fished out of the Hudson River roughly a month later.

Amid swirling controversy over "malfunctioning" surveillance cameras positioned all along the riverbank where Jarzyk was last filmed running in exercise clothing, Hoboken officials ruled his drowning "accidental."

The medical examiner attributed alcohol and "intoxication" as the reason why the 27-year-old suddenly plunged to an icy death.

Eponymous Rox

Paul Tynan, 23, Missing from Waterford Ireland

Another young man is missing in Ireland: Paul Tynan, 23, vanished from his campus days ago and hasn't been seen or heard from since.

The 23-year-old electrical engineering student was last sighted at the River Walk residential complex in Waterford during the early hours of January 23rd.

Tynan's family says his lack of contact with them for so many days is uncharacteristic: "It is just not like him at all ... we are very worried."

Paul Tynan is a slim, blue-eyed Caucasian male about 5-foot-10, with dark hair and a beard. He was wearing a blue hoodie, dark jeans and black Nike sneakers when he disappeared.

Anyone who knows what happened to him or his present whereabouts is asked to contact Waterford Garda Station at 051 305300, or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Body Found in River is Colin Ronayne, Missing in Ireland Since New Years Day

A body found in the River Lee yesterday is that of Colin Ronayne, missing from Cork Ireland since the first of January.

Police and volunteers had been searching the waterway for weeks after 31-year-old Ronayne disappeared at approximately 6:00 a.m. on New Years day.

The UCC finance student attended a party with friends on the previous night and was still staying at their house the morning he went out for a walk and didn't return.

River watchers finally spotted Ronayne's corpse floating in the River Lee near a power plant on Friday and contacted the authorities. Results of an autopsy are still pending, so his cause and manner of death are yet unknown.

Colin Ronayne was one of three men who suddenly disappeared from this metro region over the winter.

Diarmuid Twomey, 31, is still missing. He was last seen around 3:00 am on Sunday, December 20th. There has been no trace of him since that weekend.

And Nayden Ivanov, 36, got off a bus at about 5:00 p.m. on December 17th. He hasn't been seen or heard from either.

Now a 15-year-old youth has also vanished from the district: Leonard Nika is a blue-eyed Caucasian male about 5-foot-6 with a "broad build." He was last seen wearing dark jeans, a silver jacket and black shoes.

Anyone who knows what happened to this missing person or Nika's current whereabouts is asked to contact detectives of the Kanturk Garda Station at 029 20680.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Police circle back in the search for Adrian Lynch

After scaling back the hunt for Adrian Lynch, missing in Jersey UK since early December, police say they'll revisit the properties they searched before...

Investigators have previously stated that "in all probability Adrian is dead" and continued to caution that their renewed efforts this week are "not only for Adrian, but also for any of his possessions."

They have come to believe the missing 20-year-old electrician had his passport and driver's license on him when he vanished in thin air well over a month ago, despite abandoning his wallet and other personal effects.

Adrian Lynch was last seen alive leaving a Christmas party in a cab. His cellphone, billfold and belt were subsequently discovered in the neighborhood of Carrefour Selous where the taxi driver dropped him off.

Using surveillance video and eyewitness testimony, Jersey police have further refined the timeline of events that led up to Lynch's December 5th disappearance. These are as follows:

1. At midnight Adrian Lynch exited a taxi at the intersection of Ruette D'Avranches and La Rue;

2. Around the same time, and in an area just south of Carrefour Selous, he spoke with a motorist;

3. Roughly a half hour later, two other separate individuals believe they spotted him passing by on foot;

4. By 1:00 a.m., someone near Rue de la Golarde believes they saw Lynch too, and a homeowner in that same area also confirmed seeing a young man of his description, minutes after;

5. Lynch then appears to have journeyed onto La Rue du Douet, where he may have begun knocking on doors;

6. Between 1:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. he allegedly walked by the Bon Air riding stables, and, soon thereafter, was seen by a homeowner at Clos de Devant.

After this last sighting, however, Adrian 'Ady' Lynch completely fell off the radar. He is now "presumed dead."

Anyone who knows what happened to him should contact authorities at 612612, or CrimeStoppers at 0800555111.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Tyler Adams, 24, Still Missing in Missouri

Missouri police are asking for help in finding Tyler Adams (below) who's still missing a month after he disappeared.

Adams, 24 of Eureka, was allegedly last seen on December 21, 2015  in the 7800 block of Jim Weber road.

Witnesses claim he left the neighborhood that day, but they don't know where he was going.

Tyler Adams is a Caucasian male about 6-foot tall and 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is believed to have been wearing khaki pants and a white shirt on the day he vanished.

Anyone who can help solve his missing persons case is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department at 636-797-5515, or Sergeant Kausler of the JCSD's Detective Bureau at (636) 797-5546.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Michael Bugler Search: Body Found in Galway Bay is Missing Law Student

The family of Michael Bugler has confirmed that the body recovered this week from Galway Bay is that of their #missing young man. (see photo)

The 20-year-old vanished on December 18th after spending a night out at Quay's Bar with his mates.

Surveillance cameras captured images of Bugler very early that morning leaving the pub on foot and walking toward his home near Claddagh, but he never arrived there.

The bay and shoreline where the young man's corpse was finally found Thursday had been searched numerous times in the three weeks following his disappearance.

A formal identification and postmortem is still pending, but the loved ones of Michael Bugler have already publicly acknowledged that the drown victim pulled from the Galway sea at Oranmore is the missing NUIG law student.

“Thankfully, we are so relieved to finally have Michael home today,” they said.

EPONYMOUS ROX

FBI Launches Animal Cruelty Offender Database

Beginning in 2016, those convicted of animal cruelty -- like the infamous Craigslist serial dog killer below -- will land on the FBI's watchlist.

In 2014, Jason Brown, 24 and a meth addict, went on a canine killing spree at a Motel-8 in Nevada, sadistically torturing, decapitating and dismembering unwanted dogs he had *adopted* through Craigslist.

By the time a maid was finally able to get into his chained-up room, Brown had slain at least six helpless victims there; leaving "blood everywhere" and storing "dog heads in the bathtub and refrigerator" alongside their ears, tails and penises.

The link between that degree of cruelty towards animals and violence against humans, including serial murder, has long been established. But until now it wasn't possible for state law enforcement agencies and humane societies to swiftly connect the dots via an actual database.

The move this year by the FBI to start collecting all the names of convicted animal abusers under a separate category in their 'National Incident-Based Reporting System' aims to correct this potentially-fatal oversight.

It also alerts authorities across the nation to begin treating these cases more seriously, because “when the FBI says animal cruelty is important and we are going to track it, it sends a message," a Bureau spokesperson announced during this week's press conference.

That's a significant shift, since, in the past, such offenders have been routinely underestimated by the criminal justice system, receiving mere slaps on the wrists which enabled them to enlarge the scope of their criminality until it included targeting humanity.

Beginning in 2016, however, the revolving-door days of small fines and short sentences for brutally mistreating defenseless creatures have, happily, come to an end.

Now police and prosecutors need only consult the NIBRS database when determining the appropriate sentencing for those charged with animal cruelty offenses, ideally putting away these dangerous sociopaths  before they move on to victimizing people.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing Person Alert for Craig Baxter, 28, of Lincoln Nebraska

ALERT: Newly graduated optometrist Craig Baxter below has been missing from Lincoln Nebraska since Monday.

On that morning the 28-year-old was set to begin the next phase in his career 'on rotation' in nearby Omaha, but never arrived there as planned.

Baxter hasn't been seen or heard from since then, and his cell phone, bank cards and social media accounts are also now inactive.

Loved ones say Craig Baxter has never before gone missing and -- because it's so out of character for him to lose contact and not follow through on his professional obligations -- they fear for his safety.

It's not clear if Baxter has in fact had an accident or met up with foul play, but even the young man's longtime pastor believes "it's strange" for him to fall off the radar.

The Nebraska State Patrol has joined forces with Lincoln authorities to help solve this missing persons case and told reporters yesterday that they're presently combing area "parks and lakes" that Baxter's been known to frequent.

In the meantime, anyone who thinks they may have seen him, or who knows of his current whereabouts, is asked to alert those agencies directly or a 911 dispatcher.

Craig Baxter is an athletic Caucasian male with brown hair and glasses.  He was driving a navy blue BMW X-3 with Nebraska plate numbers 15-B187 on the day he disappeared.

Eponymous Rox

Body in Pond is Missing Toronto Man Ephraigm Flores (photo)

Sources in Canada have confirmed the victim found in a pond last week is Ephraigm Flores, 23 of Toronto.

Flores, a Licensed Practical Nurse, went missing after departing from a music festival in Vancouver near Richmond on December 26th.

Nearly a week later, mounted police in that district discovered the body of an athletic Filipino male in a semi-frozen pond of Garden City Park.

A spokesman for Richmond's RCMP said the identity of the drowned young man has not been officially confirmed by a coroner yet, pending the results of an autopsy.

However, the family of Ephraigm Flores told reporters this week that the victim recovered on New Year's eve is definitely their missing loved one:

"Now, we found him," a relative speaking on their behalf announced online. "But the situation was not what the family expected.”

Flores' missing persons case is still considered open, although Canadian officials have already stated that neither his disappearance on Boxing Day nor his subsequent drowning seems suspicious to them.

Eponymous Rox

Missing Backroad Anthem Frontman Craig Strickland Found Drowned

Search Teams using sonar report that missing Backroad Anthem frontman Craig Strickland has been found drowned at the bottom of Kaw Lake:

The discovery of his corpse in the 40-mile long body of freshwater today occurs more than a week after Strickland's boat was found capsized.

He and his younger hunting buddy, Chase Morland, had recklessly taken off in the middle of a winter superstorm last weekend "to kill ducks" in the wilderness, but immediately disappeared later the same day.

Morland, 22 from Arkansas, was immediately found drowned, but 29-year-old Craig Strickland had remained missing ... until this afternoon.

Today's announcement that searchers finally found his remains at Bear Creek Cove confirms fears that Strickland also perished during freak weather that brought dangerously high winds, mixed precipitation, and flooding to the region.

Only Craig Strickland's dog, Sammy, an experienced Labrador Retriever, survived the ill-fated hunting expedition into Oklahoma's Kaw Lake district.

As might be expected, Sammy was found unharmed guarding Chase Morland's dead body -- that particular breed of canine are not only famous for their loyalty but also for being excellent swimmers.

Eponymous Rox

Missing Boston Student Dennis Njoroge Found Drowned in Charles River

Body found in Boston's Charles River on New Year's eve is missing college student Dennis Njoroge (shown in the poster below).

In a troubling pattern that has plagued cities like Boston for the past two decades, the 21-year-old Northeastern University media-arts major abruptly disappeared from his campus on November 29, 2015.

A native of Kenya, Njoroge moved with his parents to Massachusetts in his youth. They filed his missing persons report when he uncharacteristically lost touch with them and failed to attend anymore school activities.

A month later, on December 31st, a young man's corpse was spotted in the Charles River, and positively identified as the missing college student over the weekend.

This is the same waterway where the body of 23-year-old grad student Jonathan Dailey was discovered in the winter of 2012, bound in chains and weighted with cement.

It's also not far from the city reservoir where missing honors student Franco Garcia was found drowned, after he mysteriously vanished while using a downtown ATM.

As with Dailey's and Garcia's peculiar cold-weather drownings, Boston police are claiming there is "nothing suspicious" about the similar disappearance and death of Dennis Njoroge as well.

In fact, they informed reporters yesterday that they don't even plan to fully investigate it because -- as is typical for waterlogged bodies -- there were "no signs of trauma" on Boston's latest drowned young man.

Eponymous Rox

MISSING PERSONS ALERT: Jim Dyer, 23, of Maine

ALERT: Missing 23-year-old Jim Dyer (below) left the Pearl nightclub in Old Port Maine, after celebrating New Year's eve there. No one's seen or heard from him since.

According to his missing persons report, the blond-haired man was last sighted at the Pearl around three in the morning on New Year's day.

He is believed to have been wearing a red flannel shirt, khaki pants and winter boots on the morning he went missing.

The Saco Police Department in southern Maine is heading up the investigation into the unexplained disappearance of James Dyer, which, at this time, has not been labeled suspicious.

They urge anyone who knows what happened to the missing young man on New Year's day -- or with knowledge of Jim Dyer's current whereabouts -- to alert them at 207-284-4535.

This case is developing.

Eponymous Rox

Missing Star Footballer Steve Gohouri Found Drowned in River Rhine

A coroner has confirmed that a body found in the River Rhine is that of missing star footballer Steve Gohouri.

The onetime Premier League player vanished in December while attending a Christmas party with his teammates in Germany.

Mr. Gohouri had planned to spend the remainder of the holiday season with his parents in France, where he is also a citizen.

They filed a missing persons report when he didn't show up as expected or telephone them.

On New Year's eve, a body matching the description of the missing 34-year-old pro athlete was spotted in the River Rhine near Dusseldorf.

Officials there announced yesterday that the man found drowned on December 31st was indeed Steve Gohouri.

German authorities say foul play isn't suspected in Gohouri's disappearance or death in their country because there were no apparent injuries on the star footballer's corpse to indicate he met a violent end.

Eponymous Rox

Footprints Narrow Search for Missing Singer Craig Strickland, Feared Drowned

Footprints discovered in the quest to find Craig Strickland have helped narrow the search area for Backroad Anthem's still missing lead singer.

Strickland and his younger hunting companion Chase Morland headed into an epic winter storm a week ago to "kill ducks" in Oklahoma's sprawling Kaw Lake region.

The latter drowned after an apparent capsizing, and was found dead by searchers alongside Craig Strickland's black labrador retriever, Sammy.

The fact that the middle-aged dog survived the deadly misadventure, however, has fueled hopes that the 29-year-old country music star is also still alive, albeit lost somewhere in the wilderness.

That hope is fast dwindling though because, apart from stumbling across the trio's footprints and other tracks they'd left when first arriving in the area last Sunday, there has been no subsequent signs of life.

Massive Kaw Lake is famous for its monster waves and treacherous boating conditions, so there is reasonable speculation now that Craig Strickland might likewise have perished in it.

If so -- due to air and water temps -- it could take quite awhile for his body to resurface, which most likely will be in the vicinity of where Chase Morland's corpse was found and close to the place the two men had launched from.

In the meantime, search teams have begun probing the lake's bottom, in the specific area where their footprints were finally discovered this week, using sophisticated sonar.

E.R.

MISSING PERSONS ALERT: John Fernandez, 22, of Middletown NJ

Missing college student John Fernandez (below) vanished from Middletown NJ last month. He has not been seen or heard from since.

The 22-year-old accountant major was first reported missing by his family in mid December, after he allegedly failed to return from a walk in the Natco Lake region on Sunday the 13th and, thereafter, lost contact with them.

A preliminary investigation turned up John Fernandez's cell phone in a ditch off Highway 36 near the Gramercy Lakeside Manor, but there were no other signs of the missing young man.

Police have utilized K9s, all-terrain vehicles, helicopters -- and even divers -- in the massive search for him, and similarly report that they've found "no clues" as to his fate or whereabouts.

Weeks later, John Fernandez is still gone without a trace, and his worried loved ones are now asking for the public's help in solving his mysterious missing persons case.

Fernandez is a slender Filipino male, about 5-foot-10 with dark hair and brown eyes. He was thought to be wearing a gray leather jacket with a hoodie and black high-tops on the day he disappeared.

Anyone who knows what happened to him should alert Detective Kelly Godley of the Middletown Police Department at (732) 615-2120. Tips also can be anonymously posted in this article's comment section.

E.R.

STILL MISSING: Adrian Lynch, 20, from Jersey UK

ALERT: Adrian Lynch (below) went missing from Jersey UK early last month, after attending a holiday party with his coworkers at the Merton Hotel.

Weeks later, despite massive searches for the 20-year-old electrician that included fields, waterways and nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies, he still remains gone without a trace.

UK police and volunteers have spent "thousands of hours" trying to find the missing Jerseyman, who, according to eyewitnesses and surveillance footage, was last seen taking a taxi in the predawn hours of December 5th.

Adrian 'Ady' Lynch reportedly abandoned his wallet, cell phone and a belt that morning, and, whatever his next destination was supposed to have been, he never arrived there.

Family members of the still-missing young man say his continued absence, without making contact with them, is completely uncharacteristic and "agonizing." 

They urge anyone with information -- "no matter how insignificant" -- that can help solve their loved one's missing persons case to immediately alert authorities at 612612, or CrimeStoppers at 0800555111. (Tips may also be left anonymously on our website via this article's comment section.)

Adrian Lynch is a slim, Caucasian male, about 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds with tanned skin and brown hair. He is believed to have been wearing a blue suit and white button-down shirt on the day that he vanished.

Eponymous Rox