Bellefonte police and the family of missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar say they are playing a "waiting game" as the five-month anniversary of his disappearance approaches this week.
Cpl. Daniel Holliday, the Bellefonte police officer in charge, said yesterday that police had no new updates in the investigation, and that the FBI is still investigating whether a man in cell phone pictures taken by a Texas woman is actually Gricar.
"We have not gotten the results back from the FBI on the photographs," Holliday said. "It's the FBI ... obviously, they have a lot of things to take care of. I'm sure they are doing the best that they can."
The FBI was contacted for further information on its analysis, but could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
The pictures were taken Aug. 8 at a Chili's Grill & Bar in Nacogdoches, Texas. Bellefonte police received the cell phone containing the photos Aug. 18 and turned it over to the FBI for analysis.
Holliday said this is most likely the first time Bellefonte police have sought the FBI's help for photo enhancement.
"I don't know what the normal turn-around time is," Holliday added.
Gricar's girlfriend and housemate, Patty Fornicola, his daughter Lara, his ex-wife and his nephew Tony Gricar met with Holliday and Officer Darrel Zaccagni at the end of last week.
"We just kind of went over things
and had a little brainstorming session to try to stay on top of the investigation," Holliday said.
Fornicola said they discussed some significant issues and leads as well as leads that did not prove to be of much use in the investigation.
"Since all of us haven't been together, we sat down with Cpl. Holliday and Officer Zaccagni and sort of what we did was just catch up, where we are and what we have done," Fornicola said. "We discussed where we might be going in the future and just touched base."
Fornicola said she thinks it is "expected" that FBI results would take a while to come back, but she said it is also her understanding that the FBI agent who was assigned to the case had been working on another case out of the area.
Fornicola said the time that has passed still has not changed her opinion of the pictures' authenticity.
"I still think that there was a resemblance if you compared it to certain pictures ... I think anything is possible," Fornicola said. "I never thought that I would be in a situation where someone that I loved is missing. I guess that I'm just trying to remain optimistic."
Centre County President Judge Charles C. Brown Jr. said the only thing he and others can do is hope for good news.
"I think the position that I am in, as a judge, and having worked with Ray for more than 20 years, is that it is just a tragic situation, and I hope it is resolved soon, and resolved with a good ending," Brown said.
At this point in the investigation, Bellefonte police and Gricar's family are waiting for the information to come back and to determine where the case will go from there, Holliday said.
But he added that police continue to pursue additional tips and leads.
Gricar has been missing since April 15, when he called Fornicola to tell her he was taking the day off from work and driving along route 192 near Lewisburg. His car was found the following day near a Lewisburg antiques market. The last major development in the case came in early August, when fishermen recovered Gricar's county-issued laptop in the Susquehanna River, missing its hard drive.
Brown said he is sure the situation must be "terribly nerve-racking" for Fornicola, whom he sees around the courthouse, and for the rest of Gricar's family.
"You want answers, and you want somebody to be doing something with the case every day, and you want to know if somebody is working hard enough," Brown said. "The despair, to bear up under this length of time ... it must be a terrible thing."
Tony Gricar, who often acts as a spokesman for the family, was unavailable for comment yesterday.
