Arkadiy Tashman now missing three years, Staten Island, New York

Arkadiy's sister has done a post on her blog to mark the third anniversary of his disappearance: http://arkadiytashman.blogspot.com/2008/01/its-been-three-years-ive-never-thought.html. Please read it, as well as her older posts!

A little background on Arkadiy from http://www.crimelibrary.com/missing_children/arkadiy_tashman.html:

Arkadiy Tashman
Seventeen-year-old Arkadiy Tashman enjoyed being called by
his nickname, "Ark". He also enjoyed skateboarding and hanging out with his
friends. Ark is a strapping youth who stood over six feet tall,
and attended Port Richmond High School.
On Tuesday, January 25th, Ark
left his Mariner's Harbor home to visit a friend who lived nearby. He was last
seen sometime around 2:45 a.m. the next morning when he left for home. Later
that morning Ark's parents, Igor and Alla, found an upsetting message he had
left beneath a TV remote control. "Sorry about this. No wake, no funeral," it
read. Disturbing messages were also found on his computer.
Authorities were
quickly notified about the missing youth. "No one has seen or heard from him,"
said Ark's 27-year-old sister, Natalya Voskresenskaya. "He had no problems with
his parents, that's the most confusing part." The missing young man also was not
on any medications. Law enforcement authorities initially believed Ark had run
away and his note implied suicide. It was revealed that the day before the
youth's disappearance, he had broken up with his girlfriend and was very upset.
Family members said Ark had never before threatened to run away, or to commit
suicide. Authorities immediately began to search for the missing youth and asked
for the public's help in locating him.
Ark's family mobilized friends and
volunteers to search for him. They did not believe he was suicidal. "It's
important for us to find him before he hurts himself," said Natalya. Fliers and
posters with his photo and description were circulated throughout Manhattan
and Staten Island. The searches mainly concentrated on Brooklyn, Greenwich
Village, Staten Island and the East Village and parks; areas where they
knew skateboarders loved to hang out. "We put posters all over the places he
might appear," said Natalya. "We can't think the other thing. We can't.
Sometimes you have those horrible images that he's lying somewhere. It's
impossible. There would be a body. People don't just disappear. Maybe if he sees
the poster he'd realize how much we need him. It's really hard to be without
him. Someone's going to see him. He's a cute boy."
His older sister has
created a web site page about Arkadiy, please visit: http://arkadiytashman.blogspot.com/.
The
New York Police Department (NYPD) continued its search throughout the city for
Ark, also focusing on known skateboard areas. Hundreds of people were
questioned, but there were no reported sightings of the missing youth.
Authorities in the NYPD Missing Persons Division have classified Ark as a
missing and endangered person. Arkadiy Tashman was last seen wearing a green
baseball cap, gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. He has
flowing ash-blond hair and a pierced right ear. He speaks fluent Russian and
English. He is an avid skateboarder and might be located in popular places
frequented by young skateboarders, in the Manhattan or Brooklyn areas of New
York. Anyone with information on this case should immediately call the New York
Police Department's Missing Persons Squad (212-473-2042) or (800-346-3543).

You can print a poster of Arkadiy at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1007600&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US.

Once again, the blog for Arkadiy is http://arkadiytashman.blogspot.com/.
MySpace page for Arkadiy: http://www.myspace.com/teens_just_dont_run_away

Nellie Flickinger, missing from Erie, Pennsylvania

I first heard about Nellie from the Doe Network, but I had not posted her on here yet (except a mention on the index). The information on there had also been provided by the family. It is nice to see she is getting some media coverage!

From http://www.yumasun.com/news/flickinger_39119___article.html/family_lapeyrouse.html:

Family seeks help finding loved one
BY DARIN FENGER, SUN STAFF WRITER
January 22, 2008 - 9:41PM
The niece of a Pennsylvania woman who disappeared almost 30 years ago says her loved one may be dead in California - or be living in Yuma.
Nellie Florence Cornman Flickinger was last seen in Erie, Pa., in 1979. She was 30 at the time of her disappearance.
Flickinger's family believes she may have fled to Yuma, where she was known to have worked at restaurant many years ago. But the family's investigation has also turned up buried remains, which will soon undergo DNA testing in California.
Joni Lapeyrouse, Flickinger's niece, said that family recently relaunched their search for the woman because the five children she abandoned are now adults who have questions.
"We just want to know if she's all right," Lapeyrouse told The Sun. "If she wants to be left alone, that's fine. We'll leave it at that. At this point the family just wants to know if she's OK or not."
The niece admitted that help from law enforcement has been scarce due to the fact that Flickinger most likely disappeared of her own free will. No foul play is suspected.
The family discovered a possible match between Flickinger and buried remains in California through The Doe Network. The organization publicizes the descriptions of unidentified bodies in hopes of connecting with families or law enforcement agencies.
Lapeyrouse said that although she still wants to reach out to Yuma, her gut reaction is that the body in Colusa County, Calif., is her aunt. The niece pointed out that both women have screws and a plate in the right leg, plus the hair color, age and height seem to be a match.
Flickinger is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, and was 5 foot 3 inches and 130 pounds when she disappeared.
People with information about Flickinger can reach Lapeyrouse at 1-850-602-2743.

You can also call the Erie police at (814) 870-1260.

According to the Doe Network (http://doenetwork.org/cases/2313dfpa.html), Nellie had said she was heading to California, and she might use the aliases Lindy Sue Henry, Nellie Henry, or Sue Henry.

Roberta Lawrence found dead back in 2002!

A very big thank you to the reader who brought this to my attention!

I do not know how she managed to still be listed as missing for the past six years when in reality she was only missing for about a month and a half. However, she has been listed as found by the Yahoo! ColdCases group (posts at and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ColdCases/message/54572). One member said she talked with the police in Coraopolis and Roberta's body had been found on February 14, 2002.

In the other message, one source listed was Roberta's information from the Social Security Death Index. That Roberta Lawrence is also from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, and her date of birth was also November 24, 1944, so they are most likely the same person. The death date is listed by Social Security as February 9, 2002.

Roberta's name is also on a list of recent deaths from February 14, 2002, at http://www.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20020214deaths0214p6.asp:

LAWRENCE, Roberta, 57, of Coraopolis. Wharton-Herrick Funeral Home,
Imperial. (CO)

Brooke Wilberger: Suspect to be extradited to Oregon

I hope that Joel Courtney does not fight the extradition and delay the case too much more. Hopefully everything else runs smoothly, too. Of course, they still have to find Brooke.
Article from http://media.barometer.orst.edu/media/storage/paper854/news/2008/01/22/News/Kulongoski.Asks.For.Extradition.Of.Joel.Courtney-3160643.shtml:

Kulongoski asks for extradition of Joel Courtney
Orders will bring Joel
Courtney, accused of raping, killing Brooke Wilberger to Oregon for charges
Issue date: 1/22/08 Section: News
Oregon Gov.
Ted Kulongoski has signed an extradition order encouraging the return of Joel
Courtney, the man accused of raping and killing 19-year-old Brooke Wilberger in
2004.
According to The Associated Press, Courtney is currently in New Mexico.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson said he wanted Courtney returned
to Oregon within 90 days.
Last Wednesday, a Kulongoski spokesman said the governor's office sent the
extradition order to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. According to a Richardson
spokeswoman, the governor will expedite the process and does not intend to
decline the extradition.
"I am strongly encouraged by the level of cooperation between both
governors' offices," Haroldson said in an interview with The Associated
Press.
Joel Patrick Courtney, 41, was previously arrested in November 2004 for
allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a foreign exchange student at the
University of New Mexico. Courtney was sentenced to 18 years in prison last
month after pleading guilty to the charges against him.
Wilberger, a Brigham Young University student from Veneta, vanished while
cleaning lighting fixtures in an apartment complex parking lot near Oregon State
University in May 2004. Investigators found only her sandals and a pail of soapy
water left behind. Wilberger's body was never found despite an extensive search
effort. Little of the evidence connecting Courtney to Wilberger's presumed death
has been revealed by investigators.
Courtney was arrested more than a year after Wilberger's disappearance and
was charged with kidnapping, aggravated murder and rape. He is currently facing
14 separate counts of aggravated murder - one for each theory on how Wilberger
was actually killed, two counts of first degree kidnapping, one count of first
degree sodomy, one count of first degree rape and one count of first degree
sexual abuse.
A Benton County grand jury also indicted Courtney on charges of attempting
to kidnap and rape two other girls at around the time Wilberger vanished.
Haroldson intends to seek the death penalty and expects Courtney will
challenge the extradition.

If you know anything about Brooke's disappearance, please call the Corvallis Police Department at (541) 766-3522 or the Portland FBI at (503) 224-4181.

You can print a poster of Brooke at http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200401499S.


Photo of Brooke from the Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wilberger_brooke.html). Visit the site for many more photos of Brooke.

Sofia Juarez: New missing persons website for Washington state

**This is one of the articles that are part of the "backlog" of unposted items for this blog, some from as far back as September. Better late than never, though, right?**

The website for this state database is http://www.waspc.org/mp/missing.php.
Article from http://www.kvewtv.com/news/?sect_rank=1&section_id=1&story_id=3418:

New Website Hopes To Crack Missing Persons Cases Started by States Law
Enforcement Officials
Brian Flores /
Weekend Anchor/Reporter
Last updated: Friday, September 21st, 2007 06:53:09 PM
KENNEWICK --
Sofia Juarez was last seen walking out of her bedroom back in February of
2003.
And she hasn't been seen since.
This new website started by the
Washington State Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs will list all the
missing persons in the state, no matter what age.
They hope that the website
will help gather answers to many unsolved missing persons cases.
In
Kennewick, like you mentioned earlier, Sofia Juarez has been missing since 2003,
and police say any extra information will help.
"Anytime that we can get a
website or get people to look at this, somebody may have some information eve if
they think it's small. Like that they may have seen something, that infor could
be critical to solving this case," said Sgt. Scott Child.
Child says they
have assigned a full-time officer specifically for the Juarez case.
And even
posted a poster on the side of a big rig truck.
He
says it is critically important to get the information out to the public within
the first few days.
And hopefully this website helps.

Other missing people with Washington state connections that I have posted on this blog are Cody Haynes (missing from Kittitas), Christopher Kerze (missing from Minnesota but may be in Seattle), and Ashley Martinez (missing from Missouri but suspect found in Olympia). Since Cody is the only one who is actually from Washington, he is the only one of those three listed on the website.

Meanwhile, if you know anything about Sofia's disappearance, please call the Kennewick police at (509) 628-0333 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
Sofia's website: http://www.geocities.com/thekarmaclub/sofia.html
You can print a poster of Sofia at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=954908&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US.

Photo and age progression of Sofia from her poster.

Body found in Somerset probably NOT Joey Offutt

Update 4/2/08 - article and links removed per family request. This body is believed not to belong to Joey, anyway. She is still missing, still out there somewhere.

Meanwhile, Joey is still out there. If you know what happened to her, please call the Pennsylvania state police at (814) 371-4652 or Pennsylvania CrimeStoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS .

Joey's website: http://www.findjoey.org/

You can print a poster of Joey at http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200705513S.

Photo of Joey from her website. The website also has a photo of Joey wearing her glasses.

FOUND SAFE: Brian Dalton

Scrolling down the first page of my blog, I noticed that Brian's pictures no longer showed up. If they are from the NCMEC website, as Brian's were, this sometimes can be an indication that the child/teen has been found.
So, searching the Internet, I found his name in a list of recovery notices at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4thekids/message/5017. The list was posted on December 23, which was 10 days after I had posted about him on here.

Jon Dabkowski and Gabriel Minarcin now missing 26 years, Tarentum, Pennsylvania

Not much has changed in the past year for this case, except that a new age progression has been done of Jon Michael Dabkowski. Maybe this can be the year that will change things??

The top row of photos is of Jon; the other two on the bottom are of Gabriel. The photos on the right show how the two friends might look now if they are still alive.

From the Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dabkowski_jon.html):

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: January 14, 1982 from Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: November 9, 1970
Age: 11 years old
Height and Weight: 4'10, 72 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair,
hazel eyes. Dabkowski has a small scar under his left eye. He has a deep cleft
in the middle of his chin. His complexion is clear and he is right-handed. There
are slight bags beneath Dabkowski's eyes. His nicknames are Dabbo and Jonny.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A maroon jacket and boots.

Details of Disappearance
Dabkowski was last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. on January
14, 1982, in his hometown of Tarentum, Pennsylvania. He and his friend, Gabriel
Minarcin, finished dinner at the Dabkowski home and were walking three doors
down to Minarcin's family's home. The boys never arrived at the house and have
not been seen again.
Authorities believe that Minarcin and Dabkowski may
have fallen through thin ice near their residences and drowned, as they were
last seen walking together near the Allegheny River. Footprints in the snow lead
to the riverbank, but there were no prints leading away from the river. However,
Dabkowski had been told by his parents to stay away from the river, and he
dependably obeyed this rule. An extensive search of the water turned up no
evidence that anyone had fallen in.
Neil B. Hammons stole Dabkowski's
identity in 1998. He was stopped by police while driving and showed the officer
a driver's license in Dabkowski's name. The officer realized Dabkowski was a
missing person, but as the man was a legal adult, he could not hold him. He let
the man go and notified Dabkowski's family, who thought their son had been
found. It turned out Hammons had been looking for a new identity and had chosen
Dabkowski off a missing persons' website which gave his information. He had
nothing to do with Dabkowski's disappearance which, like Minarcin's, remains
unsolved.
Dabkowki's family still resides in the house he lived in. Due to
the lack of clues in the boys' cases, their disappearances are classified as
non-family abductions.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Tarentum Police Department
412-224-1515

Gabriel's description (from http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/minarcin_gabriel.html):

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: January 14, 1982 from Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: October 5, 1971
Age: 10 years old
Height and Weight: 4'0, 60 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel
eyes. Minarcin has a mole on his right wrist. One of his upper front teeth was
chipped at the time of his 1982 disappearance.
Clothing/Jewelry Description:
A maroon jacket and boots.

Unfortunately, I have not a poster that shows both boys on one paper. So you can print Jon's poster at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=600906&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US and Gabriel's poster at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=603366&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US.

Patrick Fitzgerald: Body found

If his body was in the lake the whole time, I wonder why they did not find him right away? Sometimes I guess things can be overlooked, or the weather or the elements can change circumstances.
From http://kdka.com/local/body.found.lake.2.628842.html:

Jan 14, 2008 6:45 am US/Eastern
Officials ID Body Found In Lake As
Missing Hunter
BURRELL TOWNSHIP (KDKA) ― Officials with the Coroner's Office in Armstrong
County say they have now positively identified the body found Sunday at a lake
as a missing hunter who disappeared in November.
State police, local fire departments and the coroner were called to Crooked
Creek Lake in Burrell Township following reports of the discovery of a
body.
"There was a call into the Armstrong 911 Center that there was a possible
body in the water," said Craig Davis, of the Burrell Township Fire
Department.
Officials with the Coroner's Office say they have now identified the body
as 45-year-old Patrick Fitzgerald, from Vandergrift.
"At the time of the recovery he was in his hunting garb as described at the
time he went missing, an orange hunting vest and did have on the hip waders,"
said Bob Bower, Armstrong County Coroner.
He went missing back in November.
Fitzgerald was last heard from by his mother when officials say he called
and told her he was just about to put his canoe in the water at the lake.
An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Here is a more recent article with some of the autopsy results. From http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08015/849324-56.stm:

Autopsy reveals Vandergrift deer hunter drowned
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A deer hunter from Vandergrift whose body was
found floating in a lake on Sunday accidentally drowned, according to the
Armstrong County coroner.
A hiker spotted Patrick M. Fitzgerald, 46, in
Crooked Creek Lake in Armstrong County near the boat launch off Robb's Fording
Road at about 4:30 p.m., according to Armstrong County Coroner Robert Bower. The
body was recovered about an hour later. Mr. Fitzgerald had been missing since
Nov. 27.
Mr. Fitzgerald often took his canoe out alone to isolated hunting
spots along Crooked Creek. After his disappearance, searchers combed the area
for days, ultimately finding his canoe, some personal belongings, his car and
his boat trailer but not Mr. Fitzgerald.
The coroner said he will complete
his autopsy of Mr. Fitzgerald today.

Vernon Hayden body found

This is one case that certainly provoked a lot of discussion on here. I do not think I have ever had so many comments on one case before, especially in such a relatively short time period.
From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19189419&BRD=1282&PAG=461&dept_id=182121&rfi=6:

Examiner IDs body as that of Eliz. Twp. man
By ERIC SLAGLE, Daily News
Staff Writer
01/11/2008
The
Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office determined a 71-year-old Elizabeth
Township man died of gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma to the head. Manner
of death was ruled homicide.
An autopsy Thursday also positively identified
the body recovered in a wooded part of Bedford County as Vernon Hayden Sr., who
went missing last month.
Hayden's stepgrandson Timothy Large, 30, of Forward
Township, faces homicide, abuse of a corpse and five other charges in the case.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 18 at 8:30 a.m. in Pittsburgh
Municipal Court.
Allegheny County police Lt. Christopher Kearns said Large
could face the death penalty, but that will be determined later by a judge.
Large led a team of Allegheny County detectives to Hayden's body Wednesday
afternoon. It was recovered in a wooded area off Riddlemoser Road in Juniata
Township at 1:35 p.m. by county and Pennsylvania State Police.
Police began
the search for Hayden on Dec. 10, a few days after his family members discovered
he was missing from his home along Skillet Hill Road. Elizabeth Township police
were the first to investigate the disappearance. The investigation then was
turned over to county homicide detectives.
To read this and all the stories
in today's Daily News, eligible subscribers can register for our New Electronic Edition.

There are no more recent updates on the case, after the body being found. Another article (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_546696.html) says that Timothy Large actually led police to the body.

An older article, from before Vernon's body was actually found, gives a possible motive for the murder. Is it true? I certainly would not be the person to ask.
From http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08009/847722-55.stm:

Man claims abuses led to slaying
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
By Wade
Malcolm, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Timothy Large Jr. told police he entered the
Elizabeth Township home of Vernon Hayden Sr. the night of Dec. 7 planning only
to steal his truck.
But before Mr. Large left the 3080 Skillet Hill Road
residence with the stolen pickup, he got into a deadly confrontation with Mr.
Hayden. He accused his 71-year-old step-grandfather of abusing his grandmother
and sister before shooting him in the head with a .22-caliber rifle, according
to an affidavit.
The document filed by Allegheny County police yesterday
charges Mr. Large, 30, of Forward, with killing Mr. Hayden, who was reported
missing Dec. 10.
Mr. Large was awaiting arraignment on numerous charges last
night, including criminal homicide and burglary, in connection with the
disappearance of Mr. Hayden.
He is also charged with theft, receiving stolen
property, access device fraud, weapons violations and abuse of a
corpse.
Although Mr. Hayden's body has not been found, Mr. Large told police
he tied concrete blocks to it, then waded into the Monongahela River and dumped
it near a Monongahela City recreation area, according to the affidavit.
A
suspect early in the investigation, Mr. Large, who has a previous aggravated
assault conviction, was held on a probation violation after police found him
hiding in bushes not far from where Mr. Hayden's truck was discovered Dec. 11 in
Brentwood, according to court documents. Investigators found blood in the back
of the truck.
Mr. Large was held in Allegheny County Jail and later charged
with making purchases on Mr. Hayden's bank card and stealing his pickup
truck.
Wade Malcolm can be reached at wmalcolm@post-gazette.com or
412-263-1878.