The FBI is still processing information obtained by the Bellefonte Police Department following a reported sighting of missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar at a Texas restaurant.
On Aug. 8, a woman at a Chili's Grill & Bar in Nacogdoches, Texas, used her cell phone to take pictures of a man she believed looked like Gricar. Bellefonte police received the phone with the pictures on Aug. 18.
The woman told police she approached the man she believed to be Gricar and asked him for directions to a local zoo. He responded that he was not from the area, and when she pushed him further to find out where he was from, he eventually said Tennessee. The woman said the man did not seem to have a southern accent.
Patty Fornicola, Gricar's girlfriend, said she thinks one photo taken by the cell phone bears a strong resemblance to a photograph of Gricar holding a baby, which can be seen on the family's Web site, www.raygricar.com.
"I am obviously hoping that it is him," she said.
Cpl. Daniel Holliday, the Bellefonte Police Department's officer in charge, said the department did nothing with the cell phone pictures, but that the pictures being published on Web sites did help to generate leads.
"We did not do any processing because we
do not have the capability at the police department," Holliday said. "The phone was sent
to the FBI [on Aug. 19] for possible enhance-
ment, but at this point there is no report back."
Tony Gricar, Ray Gricar's nephew, said family members do not think Ray Gricar is the man in the cell phone pictures. "My brother, as well as Ray's daughter and his first wife, do not think it is him," he added.
Holliday added that in addition to the cell phone pictures, the most important piece of information in the case was the discovery of Gricar's laptop computer July 30 in the Susquehanna River. When it was found, the laptop's hard drive was missing.
Centre County Sheriff Denny Nau said he doesn't think any illicit activity occurred, adding that the hard drive could have been removed by anyone, including Gricar.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
