FBI computer specialists were unable to recover any data from missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar's hard drive, according to the Bellefonte Police Department.

The head of the Gricar investigation, Bellefonte police officer Darrel Zaccagni, said the FBI reported that they are "99.9 percent sure" that the hard drive's data is beyond recovery. The hard drive was found in early October, 10 to 15 feet from the riverbank of the Susquehanna River when the water receded; it was located about 100 yards away from where Gricar's laptop was discovered in July.

"The biggest problem was the hard drive was in the river for an extended period of time, and when the water receded, it was exposed to oxygen, causing it to rust," Zaccagni said. "The FBI tried to rehydrate it, and it spun a

little bit, but they couldn't get anything -- it would have been better had it stayed in the water."

Patty Fornicola, Gricar's girlfriend, said she was not surprised that the hard drive did not yield any information.

"I was disappointed that we can't even 100 percent verify that it was Ray's hard drive," Fornicola said. "We are really no further ahead than we were on April 15."

Tony Gricar, Ray Gricar's nephew, said the negative results are just "par for the course."

"It is similar to everything else we have had to encounter so far," Tony Gricar said. "We weren't remaining too optimistic about the hard drive ... we knew it was kind of a coin toss."

The FBI has requested to conduct further experimental means of recovery, which could possibly ruin the hard drive, Zaccagni said.

"I told them to go ahead with any experiment," Zaccagni said. "If you don't try it, there is still no answer, and if it works, it will be a miracle."

The experiments on the hard drive could also be useful in developing or refining a new procedure on hard drive data recovery for future FBI investigations, he said.

Zaccagni said the next step in the investigation is to regroup. He added that tips are coming in "few and far between," but that they are still being investigated.

"At the first of the year, we will have a new chief of police [Shawn Weaver] and a new district attorney [Mike Madeira]," he said. "We are going to bring them up to date, see what they have to say and then see what direction we have to go."

In reference to state Rep. Mark Cohen's, D-Phila., demands for a "fresh, complete and independent investigation," Zaccagni said Bellefonte police have been open to anyone who wants to participate in the investigation.

"We are looking for a new place to hang our hats with hopes -- I still think our hopes are with hunting season," Zaccagni said. "Unfortunately, we are going to get hit with a heck of a snowstorm, which could do a good job of covering any evidence or body."