Former Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar was going to retire at the end of his fifth term in December 2005.

"I have always wanted to retire at 60; that has been my plan from the start," Gricar told The Daily Collegian in 2004. "I want to get used to life without an alarm clock, not having to wake up and just enjoying things that I haven't had time for."

But three years ago today, Gricar disappeared.

"It's a daily struggle for everybody. We are three years out, and we recognize that it starts to get away from the public," nephew Tony Gricar said. "The difficulty is we never know when new evidence will pop up again, so it's really hard to get on with your daily life."

Tony Gricar and his family created a Web site, raygricar.com, for those who may want to provide information informally rather than directly to law enforcement.

"We are trying to move on, and we still have hope," Barbara Gray, Ray Gricar's ex-wife and the mother of their daughter, Lara, wrote in an e-mail. "Speaking for myself, Ray's disappearance has provided a lesson in acceptance. It has taught me again that nothing is certain in life."

Ray Gricar called girlfriend Patty Fornicola April 15, 2005, to tell her that he was on Route 192 and wouldn't make it home in time to take care of their dog. The next day, his 2004 red-and-white Mini Cooper was found empty near a Lewisburg antiques market.

In July, two fishermen found Gricar's county-issued laptop computer -- without its hard drive -- in the Susquehanna River. The hard drive was found in October about 100 yards from where the laptop had been found, but no information could be recovered because of water damage.

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said it is frustrating that there have been no new leads in about a year and a half, despite continued attention paid to the case. He said Bellefonte Police Detective Matt Rickard, the lead investigator in the case, has been paging through the case file but has gotten no new leads.

"[Today], while it is the anniversary of his disappearance, is unfortunately just another day in which we search for clues," Madeira said, adding that thoughts and concerns for Gricar and his family continue through the years. "As time goes on, realistically, it becomes less and less likely that we'll get any new leads."

Ray Gricar's brother, Roy Gricar, disappeared in 1996 and was found days later to have committed suicide. Roy Gricar had suffered from bipolar disorder, Tony Gricar, Roy's son, said.

Ray Gricar did not have any history of mental health issues, Tony Gricar said.

"For all of us, this is the second go-around of something like this, so it's disconcerting at best," Tony Gricar said. "That's the white elephant in the room."

Tony Gricar said that without any evidence currently, every possible scenario of his uncle's disappearance is as likely, or as unlikely, as the next.

"It could just as easily be an incident of suicide. In my mind, if it's foul play, it's the proverbial perfect crime. Walk away, run away -- he had no reason to do that," Tony Gricar said. "When you tie it into my dad's disappearance, missing persons cases are amazingly destructive -- to the family, to the friends -- and I just can't see him going through with something like that."

Ray Gricar said his retirement announcement was not related to any events in his life at the time, according to Collegian archives.