Divers search river for David Breunig, 21 and missing in Maine

Divers and dogs will resume the search today for David Breunig (below) who went missing in Orono Maine late Friday night.

The 21-year-old attends the Maine Maritime Academy. Authorities began looking for him less than 24 hours after he vanished from a residence in the Crosby Street neighborhood.

Yesterday, they probed the area where the Stillwater River and the Penobscot converge, after officers of the Maine Forest Service performed aerial searches which revealed "two objects of interest" below the water.

Police have provided no other details as to why they suspect Dave Breunig may have drowned there or what, if anything, they discovered in yesterday's recovery efforts.

They did say that Breunig's cellphone has gone dead and there's been no activity on his bank cards or social media accounts either.

MMA also indicated on its Facebook page over the weekend that school officials are aiding local law enforcement agencies in the attempt to locate their missing college student "alive" and "safe."

David Breunig is an athletic Caucasian male about 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, with blue eyes and short brown hair. He is believed to have been wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and brown Timberlands when he disappeared.

Anyone who knows what happened to this young man or his current whereabouts is asked to call Lieutenant Chris Thornton of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office at (207) 667-7575 without delay. 

The Orono Police Department is also actively involved in this missing persons investigation. Tips to the OPD can be submitted via the Penobscot County Regional Communications Center at (207) 945-4636.

 EPONYMOUS ROX

'Evil' Teen Killer Philip Chism Could Be Free in 40 Years

Teen killer and rapist Philip Chism was leniently sentenced this week for the brutal sex assault and slaughter of his teacher, Colleen Ritzer, in 2013.

Chism, now 17 and still confined to a juvenile detention center until his 18th birthday, also attacked a female corrections officer while incarcerated in that facility, for which he must soon separately stand trial.

Like the shocking crimes he perpetrated against Colleen Ritzer three years ago, his second near-fatal assault of the prison guard was also premeditated, and involved stalking and striking her repeatedly as well as the use of a sharp instrument.

That's why the prosecution was seeking a minimum of 50-years to life -- ideally without parole -- for the incurably deadly teen; and why the Ritzer family desperately urged the court to put "this animal" away.

“He is evil, pure evil, and he must be punished,” the slain schoolteacher's father told the judge in his victim statement Friday.

"Philip Chism poses an enormous danger to the public in general, and to women in particular," the state's prosecutor echoed, adding that life behind bars for such a hopeless deviant was a "fundamental mandate of ensuring public safety."

But, despite the adult nature of his appalling offenses and his towering frame, Chism is *just a kid* in the eyes of the law now, so he'll be free to commit these heinous acts again when released from prison in his early fifties.

And he will. He will.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Body of Zachary Marr is in the River, Per Secret New Video

Cops looking for the body of Zachary Marr in a Boston river today have declined to release secret "new video" showing "he fell into the water."

A spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department told the Boston Globe this week that "new" footage emerged "recently" which led divers to focus their search efforts near the Charles River Dam.

However, she wouldn't elaborate on the film's content or where it came from, and also said the BPD has "no plans" to let the public view it.

“The video shows a male heading toward the water and disappearing,” Police Commissioner Bill Evans also stated. "It’s a sad case.”

Boston tourist Zach Marr disappeared early in the morning of February 13th, after being prevented from reentering a popular tavern where he'd been celebrating his birthday with relatives -- allegedly because it was about to close.

Marr, 22, was a stranger in the big city and wasn't wearing an overcoat during his ill-timed and ill-fated cigarette break, despite subfreezing temperatures.

It therefore sounds rather unlikely he would've strayed too far from family members still inside the pub at closing time; let alone almost a mile.

Pressed about the secret footage which would seem to prove otherwise, a second BPD spokesman said only that investigators "were shown new video that has pointed us into this direction and we are searching the Charles River."

He too declined to provided additional details, but, if Zachary Marr is indeed found drowned there, he would be one of many young men who mysteriously went missing in such a notorious municipality during cold weather, and met an icy, watery end.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing NH Man John Watkins Found Drowned

The drowning of yet another missing young man -- John Watkins of New Hampshire (below) -- is making this winter one of the deadliest 'Smiley Face Killer' seasons on record.

Watkins, 23 and slight, was last seen early Christmas eve in Merrimack NH.

Loved ones reported the Nashua man missing after his vehicle was later found abandoned in the town of Milford, some distance from his last known location.

Watkins hasn't been seen or heard from since December 24, 2015, but over the weekend a jogger running along the Souhegan River Trails spied a corpse floating in the water.

Police said today they were sure it was the remains of John Watkins and don't suspect foul play, although a formal identification and autopsy to determine how he died is pending.

Watkins is one of many unfortunate young men in the U.S. and across the pond who've gone mysteriously missing this winter, only to turn up dead in icy bodies of water days or weeks later ... if at all.

In Boston, for instance, police continue to probe the city's waterfronts and waterways for missing Harvard man Zach Marr, who disappeared while standing outside the historic Bell In Hand on February 13th.

Minutes before vanishing, Marr had urgently texted a relative inside the tavern that security personnel wouldn't let him reenter because "it was closing time."

Bell In Hand's management refuted that person's account days later, claiming via Facebook that their surveillance video "clearly" showed missing student Zachary Marr walking off as other patrons were being allowed back into the bar.

The alleged film footage of this series of events has yet to be released to the public, and Marr is still gone without a trace.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing Maine Man Jim Dyer Found Dead in Harbor

A body found in the harbor yesterday is that of Jim Dyer (below), who went missing in Old Port Maine during New Year's eve celebrations with friends.

The 23-year-old vanished from the historic Portland district while he and his group were preparing to leave the Pearl nightclub in the predawn hours of January 1, 2016.

Search-and-rescue teams routinely scoured the waterfront in the weeks following Jim Dyer's sudden and strange disappearing act, but came up empty-handed each time.

Dive teams equipped with sophisticated sonar also repeatedly searched the harbor waters and likewise found nothing.

Portland police have launched a criminal probe too -- a highly unusual development in one of these cold weather disappearances of young males.

No person-of-interest or suspects have been identified in this missing persons case, though, but the police investigation is said to be still in progress.

In the meantime, an autopsy will be performed this weekend in Augusta Maine to determine how James Dyer died and ended up in the water.

Toxicology results are pending as well.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Michael Ortega, Jonathan Kent, Lewis Hogan, Matt McAllister STILL MISSING

Michael Ortega of New Jersey, Jonathan Kent of Virginia, Lewis Hogan of Georgia and Matt McAllister of Louisiana are each still missing, after mysteriously vanishing from their home states.

Michael Ortega, 21, was last seen in his own Jersey City neighborhood on January 19th. It is uncharacteristic for him to have lost contact with loved ones. Ortega's unsolved disappearance has not received the attention it deserves -- please read and share our missing persons alert for this young man posted in January, and contact police at (201) 547-5477 if you have any information.

Jonathan Kent, 26, vanished in his automobile in the Roanoke area of Virginia on or about January 20, 2016, and coworkers reported him missing on January 25th. Kent is 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. He drives a 2015 gray Honda CRV with Virginia license plate VEC-7717 -- please call RPD if you see this vehicle and/or Kent at (540) 344-8500.

Lewis Hogan, 20, went missing from Georgia earlier this month while job-interviewing in the Anderson area. Although police "don't suspect foul play" Hogan's family is understandably worried about his welfare. Lewis "Rico" Hogan is 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds with black hair and brown eyes -- if you have info, please call Investigator Jason Price at (864) 260-4434.

Matt McAllister, 26, hasn't been seen or heard from since February 15, 2016 after reportedly departing in a dark green SUV from Cut Off Louisiana for Luling. Matthew Blake McAllister has tattoos, hazel eyes, brown hair, and is about 6-feet tall and 250 pounds -- if you  know where he is, please contact the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 532-4326, or 911.

EPONYMOUS ROX

5 reasons the death of Justice Antonin Scalia looks suspicious

U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia found dead at a *resort ranch* with a pillow over his face ... death by obesity, or murder?

1. If Justice Antonin Scalia was deathly ill from being so overweight, what was he doing frolicking around at a Texas resort ranch by himself, and without his personal physician close by? "I had a chance to observe him ... animated and engaged," said a fellow guest. "He was very entertaining."

2. Who sleeps with a pillow over their head? “We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled.”

3. Why would Scalia fold his hands peacefully while experiencing a painfully fatal heart attack? “His hands were sort of folded on top of the sheets. The sheets weren’t rumpled at all.”

4. What kind of coroner decides the sudden passing of a high-ranking government official "was natural" over the telephone and without ever examining his body? "I respected the wishes of the Scalia family ... I did this based upon credible reports."

5. How come Scalia's family went to extreme measures not only to avoid a physical examination of the Judge's corpse at the scene of his sudden death but also an autopsy? "It's not unusual .... I didn't see any red flags."

EPONYMOUS ROX

Cops confirm body of missing 22yo Avery Danley found in bay

A coroner has confirmed that the body of missing man Avery Danley was found in an estuary of Morro Bay.

The grim discovery was made a week ago and several weeks after the 22-year-old full time boat-dweller inexplicably vanished.

Local authorities said an autopsy was conducted to determine just how Avery Danley died, but indicated they don't suspect foul play in his missing persons case and presumed drowning.

Danley's cause of death hasn't been announced, but the outgoing and "free-spirited" youth was last seen alive dining with acquaintances aboard their docked vessel in Morro Bay on January 21, 2016.

Those individuals reportedly told investigators he returned to his own craft after dinner in a kayak early that same night.

The unmanned craft was later found floating in bay waters, although Danley's kin has stated this wasn't the first time it had ever drifted away from the main boat where he lived year round.

They have scheduled Avery's memorial service for 1:00 p.m. February 20th at Westside Ministries, 950 Columbia Avenue, Turlock. If you would like to assist them with their funeral costs please visit gofundme.com/averydanleysmemory.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing Person Alert for Zachary Marr, 22 of Harvard MA

ALERT: Missing person Zachary Marr below vanished in thin air while standing outside a Boston bar during the predawn hours of February 13, 2015.

Massachusetts authorities are asking for the public's help in locating the missing Harvard man, who was last observed taking a cigarette break outside the Bell In Hand tavern on Union Street near Faneuil Hall.

Sub-freezing temperatures enveloped the area over the weekend and the 22-year-old was reportedly outdoors without a jacket or other appropriate winter attire.

Zachary Marr is a blue-eyed and bearded Caucasian male, about 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, with short brown hair. He was wearing dark jeans, a blue sweatshirt and black sneakers when he disappeared.

Harvard police are also involved in the search for this missing young man. Anyone who knows what happened to him Saturday morning while visiting Boston, or Marr's current whereabouts, is urged to alert them at 978-456-1212.

Tips on this developing missing persons case can also be submitted to the Boston Police Department's District A-1 detectives at 617-343-4571.

(Find/add case updates and new info in this article's comment section.)

EPONYMOUS ROX

Search Updates for Adrian Lynch, Jim Dyer and Matt Labounty

Adrian Lynch of Jersey UK, Jim Dyer of Saco Maine and Matt Labounty of Troy NY are still gone without a trace, weeks after they were each reported missing -- search updates below:

STILL MISSING FROM JERSEY ISLAND: Divers, detectives and dogs have been intermittently searching for a 20-year-old Jerseyman who went missing after departing from a work-sponsored Christmas party the first week of December 2015.

Over two long months, though, the massive attempt to rescue Adrian Lynch from whatever mysterious fate befell him that day has gradually morphed into a mission to recover the young man's body.

UK authorities have consistently theorized throughout this unsuccessful endeavor that a "disoriented" Lynch suffered a deadly "misadventure" and "not foul play," although his mum steadfastly believes "Addy is still alive" somewhere.

Her son was last seen by coworkers on December 5th getting into a taxi, then filmed a short time later by surveillance cameras proceeding on foot into the Carrefour Selous area of St. Lawrence, where the driver reportedly had dropped him off.

Residents, as well as other individuals observed in this district walking or hitchhiking at the same hour as Adrian Lynch, were all repeatedly questioned by investigators, but these interviews have yielded nothing of substance.

Thus by mid February -- lacking "any new information" -- police announced they'd be "winding down" their investigation into his disappearance, which to date has only produced the youth's abandoned belt and wallet.

But a local law enforcement official also vowed that his agency “will never close" the Adrian Lynch case. "As long as he remains missing," the spokesman told reporters, "it will be monitored on an ongoing basis.”

STILL MISSING FROM PORTLAND MAINE: Police divers have extensively probed the frigid harbor waters in Old Port at least twice, after a 23-year-old Saco man got separated from his group during New Year's Eve festivities at the Pearl nightclub.

No one apparently saw Jim Dyer vanish into thin air early that January morning as he was standing outside the establishment readying to leave with friends; and no one has seen or heard from him since.

In the meantime, the missing young man's family has gone-for-broke in hopes of rescuing him, losing weeks of work and paychecks in their nonstop, but so far fruitless, effort to find him.

On January 22nd, they got a big financial boost from the management of Duffy’s Tavern & Grille, which hosted a fundraiser for the Dyer family that brought in hundreds of community sympathizers and over $11,000.

Dyer's case resembles that of 30yo Harvard business grad, Nathan Bihlmaier, who, in 2012, also lost contact with friends, after bouncers at Portland Maine's Ri Ra Irish Pub physically escorted him outdoors and then his cell phone died.

It would take searchers awhile to realize that Bihlmaier too was dead -- they eventually found him drowned in Portland harbor -- because Ri Ra's security had lied to police about putting Bihlmaier "in a cab."

Weeks after James Dyer disappeared, however, he is still missing.

STILL MISSING FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK: The trail leading to yet another youth who disappeared during the holidays while walking in a capitol-district city that flanks the Hudson River has grown cold.

As happened to Josh Szostak in neighboring Albany NY in 2007, Matt Labounty likewise lost contact with his friends and relatives in the midst of celebrating Christmas.

Labounty was last sighted on December 25, 2015, leaving a downtown Troy NY address on foot for his own nearby residence.

Days after the 21-year-old vanished without a trace, divers were spotted searching in the river under the Menands Bridge, but found "nothing to suggest" their latest missing man was in the water.

Now, nearly two months after Matthew Labounty somehow fell off the face of the earth on December 25th, his missing persons case remains unsolved and inactive.

Then again, it did take four full months for Joshua Szostak's drowned corpse to finally surface in the Hudson ... in the next county.

Corpse of Missing College Student Praveen Galla Found in Ocean

The body of missing Cal State student Praveen Galla (below) was found floating about a 1000 feet from a Newport Beach pier this week.

The 23-year-old disappeared ten days ago, allegedly after taking an Uber taxi from Fullerton to his college campus.

Galla's university officially classified him a missing persons the next day when his roommates reported that they couldn't locate him.

"It is not like Galla to not return home," the group also informed the Fullerton Police Department.

Investigators, however, stated the missing college student "was depressed lately."

They also said Praveen Galla sent a friend a cellphone message around the same time claiming he had "checked into" a hotel in the Newport Beach area.

On Tuesday morning, lifeguards in Huntington Beach spotted Galla dead in the water, but the condition of his remains or the cause and manner of death hasn't been disclosed yet.

An admin for the Orange County Coroner's Office posted on their website only that “the decedent was found in the ocean.”

The young man's autopsy results were still pending at the time of Tuesday's confirmation that his corpse had been recovered and formally identified.

The reason Praveen Galla went to the shore instead of to school is also unknown. 

Eponymous Rox

More Severed Feet Flotsam Washes Ashore in Canada

Severed foot number 16 has washed ashore this week on the border of Washington State and Canada, but officials still don't suspect foul play is the answer to this grisly and recurring mystery.

As has been happening for the past several years, the latest piece of freaky flotsam to arrive in British Columbia via the Salish seaway is also a detached foot in a sneaker.

U.S. and Canadian coroners have previously determined that nearly all the drown victims these rotting appendages belonged to deliberately drowned themselves, either because they were "depressed" or suffered from "mental illness."

However, in 2007, when startled beachcombers discovered two separate severed feet in the same area and time-frame, Corporal Garry Cox of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police offered his own expert opinion:

“Two being found in such a short period of time is quite suspicious,” he told reporters for the Vancouver Sun. “Finding one foot is like a million to one odds,” he assured them.

Five more sneaker shoes filled with decomposing feet or foot bones appeared the following year, and now they just keep on coming.

Submerged corpses will disintegrate fairly quickly, especially when repeatedly subjected "to the push and pull" of a body of water as turbulent as the Pacific Ocean.

As well, these could easily become dismembered soon after going underwater by hungry marine animals.

Either of those possibilities might explain why only detached feet clad in buoyant rubber-soled footwear would eventually resurface and drift to shore again... 

But not why they aren't showing up anywhere else in the world, or why there's always only one severed foot per victim.

Theories about this strange case range from organized crime and drug cartel assassinations to human traffickers or an actual serial killer using the northwest ocean waters as a body dump.

What do you think is really going on?

Missing Somerset Man Scott McCafferty Found Drowned in River Tone

Police had been searching Somerset waterways for Scott McCafferty ever since the 33-year-old went missing a month ago ... this week divers found his body:

"Mr McCafferty was reported missing on January 4th from the Taunton area. The body of a man was recovered from the River Tone near Ruishton at approximately 12:00 p.m."

Scott McCafferty was actually last seen alive on the afternoon of January 2, 2016, leaving Tesco in Castle Street on foot toward French Weir.

The slim Caucasian Englishman stood about 5-foot-8, had a full beard with short-cropped hair, and was wearing a brown jacket, dark jeans and dark shoes when he vanished.

No one seems to know what happened during McCafferty's short trek last month, but his disappearance and alleged drowning appears to be part of a troubling new trend in Great Britain, especially in the city of Manchester.

However, UK investigators say his missing persons case and death "is not being treated as suspicious and we are now carrying out enquiries on behalf of the coroner."

Anyone who knows differently is urged to alert the Avon and Somerset Police Department, force number 101, case reference number 5216002322.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Body of College Soccer Star Luke Gabbert Found in Creek (and more)

Police are probing the apparent drowning of Luke Gabbert, one of a handful of young men found dead in outdoor bodies of water this weekend...

The 19-year-old Wesleyan University soccer player's immersed corpse was discovered in Ohio's Delaware Run Creek on Saturday morning.

Investigators still don't know how the 5-foot-9, 155-pound athlete ended up dead in the water and said that, at this time, a cause of death for Luke Gabbert also remains unknown.

Meanwhile, police in the UK confirmed that a body found floating near Spurn Point of Humberside late yesterday afternoon is that of 21-year-old Liam Pullen.

Pullen went missing Friday evening, following an argument with one of his mates at a Cleesthorpes address.

According to that individual, Pullen allegedly left his house during their disagreement wearing sweats and a navy coat with a hoodie underneath, and, perhaps, "no shoes."

Investigators have told reporters that the youth's subsequent drowning death "did not appear suspicious" to them.

That's roughly the same view held by authorities in Queens New York where a dead man washed ashore of the East River on Saturday afternoon.

That victim's identity and other particulars haven't been released, pending notification of family, but his death also doesn't seem suspicious, cops there are saying.

Boston has likewise been afflicted with yet another Charles River water fatality this winter, although the identity of the deceased young male retrieved on Thursday continues to remain a riddle today, due to extensive decomposition.

“The water can kind of obscure and bloat the face," a law professor at Boston University vaguely explained to the press yesterday; additionally noting that, if the hands and feet were degloved too, it would prevent IDing the victim via his prints. 

She also suggested a police composite sketch was underway this week, in hopes that a member of the public might recognize John Doe and finally give him a name.

A jogger noticed the unidentified young man's corpse floating under the Longfellow Bridge, and a marine unit of the Massachusetts State Police came and recovered it soon after.

Foul play hasn't been ruled out at this stage in the inquiry because a cause and manner of death hasn't been determined.

Because the public was understandably alarmed by the latest discovery, Massachusetts police and the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office released a written statement about the incident.

In it they confirmed they're jointly "investigating this matter," but "no additional information is available at this time,” they added.

Missing young men "accidentally" drowning in lakes, rivers, creeks and ponds -- fully clothed and in cold weather -- is a relatively recent crime trend.

However, only in the past few years have some of these dubious mishaps been fully investigated, and a few even reclassified as *possible* murders.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Announcing Smiley Face Killer Interview #1 with Gannon and Gilbertson

KILLING KILLERS is pleased to announce our upcoming Smiley Face Killer interview with none other than former NYPD homicide detective Kevin Gannon and internationally renown criminologist D. Lee Gilbertson.

It was Detective Gannon who, in 1997, first identified Victim Zero -- 21yo Patrick McNeill -- in what would become a decades-long *drowning* spree by an elusive "group" dubbed the Smiley Face Serial Killers.

Nearly 20 years ago, Gannon promised McNeill's grieving parents he'd never stop hunting their son's murderer, and to this day he has kept that vow, at great cost and consequence.

In that epic pursuit, Gannon joined forces with St. Cloud University's acclaimed sociologist and criminal-justice professor, D. Lee Gilbertson, and together this duo became one of Smiley's most relentless and formidable foes.

Since the late 1990s, Gannon and Gilbertson have been throwing a wide net for Smiley; forensically and statistically proving beyond a reasonable doubt, that the missing young men being victimized weren't drowning in cold weather by "accident" or committing "suicide."

In 2014 though, frustrated with local authorities stomping on Smiley Face crime scenes and with coroners rubber-stamping suspicious water fatalities as "accidental," they published the definitive, 462-page death-by-drowning analysis.

Gannon and Gilbertson's Case Studies in Drowning Forensics painstakingly dissects over a dozen  high-profile 'Smiley Face' disappearances and murders in the last 19+ years -- with autopsy results, photos, phone records, GPS data, and other never-before-seen evidence, permanently debunking the official "accidental drowning" myth.

So, if you're independently hunting Smiley too, then don't take another step until you've read this major treatise. Because, yes, your hunch that the Smiley Face cases are actual homicides is correct, and Gannon and Gilbertson can show you why.

And don't miss our exclusive Smiley Face Killer interview with Kevin Gannon and Dr. Gilbertson this week!

MORE ABOUT KEVIN GANNON: Kevin Gannon retired as a Detective-Sergeant for the NYC Police Department after 20 years of service, 14 of which were in supervisory positions. In addition to policing, he has extensive training and experience in personal and physical security, investigation and surveillance, and disaster response, including biochemical warfare training with the Department of Defense. Gannon has held leadership positions in the personal protection of numerous international dignitaries and celebrities, and was an NYPD representative on ex NYC mayor Giuliani’s 1997 "Operation ICE" (Interagency Chemical Exercise) task force, which planned and coordinated emergency responses to any major chemical disaster in lower Manhattan. 

As a detective and sergeant, Gannon routinely supervised plainclothes personnel in anti-crime, narcotics and robbery units, and was second in charge of the NYPD's Missing Persons Squad. He also headed the Bronx Homicide Task Force 'Nightwatch' from 1999 until his retirement. During his distinguished career in law enforcement, Gannon has made over 1000 felony arrests for offenses involving narcotics, burglaries, robberies and homicides, and was awarded almost 100 medals for heroism in the line of duty. As such, he remains one of the most decorated members of the Special Investigation Division of the NYPD's Detective Bureau, receiving the Medal of Valor twice before retiring. In 2008, Gannon also received the Frederic Milton Thrasher award for his continued investigative work on gang crime, a field in which he's also considered an expert.

ABOUT D. LEE GILBERTSON: A three-time recipient of the Frederic Milton Thrasher award, Dr. Gilbertson holds a doctorate in sociology with a concentration in gang criminology and substance abuse, as well as a Master of Science in Criminal Justice focusing on criminology and victimology. His background includes 16 years of exemplary military service (signals intelligence and infantry) from 1976 to 1992. He also trained in and served as the unit Alcohol and Drug Coordination officer (responsible for substance-abuse prevention training and overseeing urinalysis collections), and as the unit Nuclear and Biochemical Warfare Defense officer.

Dr. Gilbertson currently teaches at Saint Cloud State University and regularly works as a law enforcement consultant, providing training in the areas of forensic victimology, crime analysis, and gangs. He has in fact studied gangs, militias, and extremist groups since 1995 and is a certified gang specialist as well as the executive editor of the Journal of Gang Research. He's also presented and taught at numerous national and international conferences and academic institutions, and is a staff member of the National Gang Crime Research Center, participating in all phases of its 'International Gang Specialist Training' conferences.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Missing UK Tourist Richard Cole Found Drowned in Dutch Canal

Dutch police say that missing UK tourist Richard Cole (below) has been found drowned in an Amsterdam canal, a week after he mysteriously disappeared while visiting their city.

Cole, 30 of Gloucestershire England, was "an experienced traveler" and vanished during the predawn hours of January 25th.

He was last observed visiting various clubs in the Thorbeckeplein district of Amsterdam "with strangers."

Cole's brother went to the city earlier this week to head up the days-long search for him, but neither he nor the Dutch authorities could find any trace of the missing man.

Then on Monday divers entered the waters of the Herengracht canal where a cadaver dog had begun acting "restless" and discovered the body of an adult Caucasian male at the bottom.

A medical examiner has now formally identified that corpse as the missing 30-year-old UK tourist, Richard Cole, but his official cause and manner of death hasn't been declared yet.

That's because "it is still unclear how he ended up in the water," a Dutch police spokesman told reporters yesterday. 

He also said his agency "will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Richard's death, and that Gloucestershire detectives "will be liaising with them in order to provide information to the coroner's office."

Cole's companions seen with him on the night he disappeared haven't been identified either, but his family "is in contact with the British Consulate" should anything turn up during questioning.

The Gloucestershire Police Department additionally reports that they've assigned Cole's relatives "a family liaison officer" while they continue to work with Dutch police on his suspicious missing-persons case and purported drowning.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Hunting the Smiley Face Serial Killers

The Smiley Face killers have been busy these past couple of years, especially in America's northeastern kill zone, where the disappearances and drownings first began almost two decades ago.

But Killing Killers is constantly watching and hunting Smiley, and it seems that things haven't been going his way lately.

Smiley's made a few mistakes...

FEATURED IN THIS DOUBLE ISSUE OF HUNTING SMILEY

Bones in the River: The cold cold-case disappearance of Michael Jansson [partially] solved;

What Goes Down Must Come Up: Refloat times for submerged cadavers & autopsy photos;

Missing - Found Drowned 2014: sampling includes the Shane Montgomery case in Philly;

Manslaughter in Milwaukee: Looking back on the Nick Wilcox disappearance & drowning;

FBI to Join the Hunt for Smiley:  How independent investigators achieved the impossible;

Diatoms and Drowning: Examining why single-cell organisms can solve major crimes;

Missing - Found Drowned 2015: sampling includes the baffling case of Paul Kochu in PA;

Smiley Breakthrough:  Two arrested in murder and drowning cover-up of Donta Williams;

‘Still Missing’ in 2016:  Open and unsolved, including the 2008 Brandon Swanson cold case;

No Foul Play:  Elements of authentic recreational drowning deaths with examples & pics;

Featured Autopsy:  Dawn Brancheau, SeaWorld trainer attacked & drowned by killer orca;

The Case of the Drowning Men:  What we know now; profiling and victimology at a glance;

Across the Pond:  Manchester England’s serial ‘Pusher’ drowns his 29th victim since 2008;

Why People Don’t Drown Outdoors, Even in Summer: Some cold facts and hard stats...

AND MORE

Help Sought in Odd Disappearance of Avery Danley

Police and family are asking for help in solving the Avery Danley disappearance late last month.

 

Danley, 22 of Turlock, has been living solo on his boat in Morro Bay for the past year or so, but vanished in thin air on January 21st.

He was last sighted that day near Harbor Patrol and/or the Blue Sky Bistro, reportedly soon after declining someone's invitation to go for a drink with them.

In the days following this last known encounter Danley's empty kayak was discovered adrift in the bay, but the missing man's family has said that wasn't an uncommon occurrence and believe it, therefore, irrelevant.

The young man's abrupt departure -- and now being gone for so long -- without contacting them, however, is totally out of character, they've assured.

The Danley's finally filed a missing person report for Avery with the Morro Bay Police Department on January 27, 2016, when they exhausted all search possibilities and still couldn't find any trace of their 22-year-old "free spirit."

Since then, the MBPD and harbor patrol have jointly conducted water searches themselves, and likewise found no sign of him either.

While this doesn't rule out a boating accident, or even that Avery went missing voluntarily, it's still unusual that he hasn't reached out to relatives and friends in almost two weeks:

“Anything is possible," a family spokesperson conceded yesterday. "But we’re all sick to death worried about him. In our opinion, if he knew we were looking for him, he would contact us. He would not like us to be worried.”

Avery Danley is a slender Caucasian male about 6-foot-3 and 140 pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes.

If you know where he is, or have other information, his loved ones urge you to contact the MBPD at (805) 772-6225 right away, or to alert Detective Gene Stuart at (805) 772-6229.

EPONYMOUS ROX