Joshua Szostak, 21 [FOUND DECEASED] Albany,NY

[Grande]

Search planned for missing Latham man

http://i5.tinypic.com/6sgqzrb.jpg

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
Last updated: 2:43 p.m., Tuesday, December 25, 2007

ALBANY - Albany police and family members of a missing 21-year-old are organizing a search party near the Port of Albany at 11 a.m. Wednesday to look for signs of the man.

Joshua Szostak has been missing since about midnight Saturday when he left the Bayou Cafe on North Pearl Street.

Albany police say there appears to be a connection between a stolen state Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle left on South Pearl Street near the Bethlehem and Albany border and Szostak. Albany police spokesman Detective James Miller said Szostak's cell phone was found where the car was stolen from a DEC garage on Broadway. There is no evidence at this point that he stole the vehicle, Miller added.

The car had significant damage to its undercarriage that probably caused the vehicle to stop on South Pearl.

Police say the search is focusing on the possibility that Szostak might have wandered from the vehicle into nearby woods and might have lost his way or was injured. "Exposure to the outside elements could be deadly based on his condition at the time," the police said in a statement.

Volunteers in the search are asked to meet at Wednesday morning in a parking lot at the corner of Grand and Arch streets in Albany.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=650181&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=12/25/2007

[Grande]

Link possible between stolen state car, missing man
Cellphone found at garage; Albany police set search for today
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, December 26, 2007

ALBANY -- City police said Tuesday they are investigating an apparent link between a Latham man's disappearance and the theft of a state Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle over the weekend.

Meanwhile, police and family members of Joshua Szostak, 21, are organizing a search party at 11 a.m. today near the Port of Albany to look for any signs of him.

Szostak has been missing since he left the Bayou Cafe on North Pearl Street early Sunday morning just after midnight while highly intoxicated, police said. His cellphone was found where the car was stolen from the DEC garage on Broadway, police spokesman Detective James Miller said.

There was no evidence he stole the vehicle, Miller said.

The vehicle was left on South Pearl Street near the Bethlehem-Albany border and had significant damage to its undercarriage that probably caused it to stop on the street, he said.

Police say the search is focusing on the possibility Szostak might have wandered from the car into nearby woods and might have lost his way or been injured. "Exposure to the outside elements could be deadly based on his condition at the time," the police said in a statement.

Szostak was wearing baggy jeans, a black, hooded sweat shirt and a white T-shirt. He is described as a white male, 5-foot-11 and weighing 200 pounds. He has a shaved head, a goatee and brown hair and blue eyes.

Search volunteers will meet this morning in a parking lot at the corner of Grand and Arch streets.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=650241&category=REGION&newsdate=12/26/2007

[Grande]

More than 150 search for missing Latham man
Joshua Szostak's father believes his son may have been harmed
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
Last updated: 4:53 p.m., Wednesday, December 26, 2007

At least 150 people have joined in the search for Joshua Szostak, who left an Albany bar three days ago and hasn't been seen since.

"The goal here is to bring my son home," William Szostak said today to a crowd in Albany, which includes area firefighters, police, family, friends and strangers. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

Three Capital District Transit Authority buses carried searchers to downtown Albany near Pearl Street and to the area around the Port of Albany and at the Bethlehem town border. Among those assisting in the search are Albany police, Selkirk firefighters, Rensselaer County sheriff's deputies and Bethlehem police.

Earlier today, William Szostak said in a phone interview he believed someone mugged and harmed his son, a 21-year-old college student from Latham. Joshua was last seen since leaving the Bayou Cafe on North Pearl Street late Saturday.

The elder Szostak also takes issue with the idea that his son may haven stolen a state vehicle before he disappeared.

Albany Police Department officials at first thought there was an apparent connection with the theft and Szostak's disappearance. An initial police statement Tuesday said they believed Szostak stole the Department of Environmental Conservation car from a DEC parking garage, but shortly afterward said there was no evidence he did.

The car was found wrecked near the Port of Albany. Joshua's cell phone was found near the site where the car was stolen.

"He was intoxicated. He had a very expensive jacket on. He had a lot of cash on him," said the elder Szostak, a Latham resident who is also a retired Green Island firefighter. "I think when he got into the South End, I feel as though something bad happened to him."

Szostak said his son was out celebrating a friend's 21st birthday Saturday night. Joshua was attending college at Hudson Valley Community College this past semester, and planned to return to SUNY Plattsburgh next semester.

Description

Joshua Szostak was wearing baggy jeans, a black, hooded sweat shirt and a white T-shirt. He is described as a white male, 5-foot-11 and weighing 200 pounds. He has a shaved head, a goatee and brown hair and blue eyes.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=650286&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=12/26/2007

[Grande]

Search grows more urgent
Law enforcement, rescue workers, volunteers fail to turn up more signs of missing 21-year-old
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, December 27, 2007

ALBANY -- Despite the best efforts of a massive volunteer force that grew Wednesday to more than 150 strong, there was still no sign of 21-year-old Latham resident Joshua Szostak, who disappeared after drinking with friends on North Pearl Street early Sunday..

The circumstances surrounding Szostak's disappearance are unusual in that his cellphone was found at the scene of a car theft two miles away at the Port of Albany. The car was found abandoned, with no trace of its driver.

Albany police initially said they believed Szostak stole the car and then disappeared -- a statement that angered Szostak's family. Police later softened the language to say they are investigating a connection between the car theft and Szostak's disappearance. A surveillance camera at North Pearl and State streets showed that Szostak was alone around 12:15 a.m. Sunday. His parents believe Szostak, who had about $500 with him, was possibly mugged and somehow harmed.

Szostak's mother, Mary Beth, was critical Wednesday of Albany police, saying police discouraged her and her husband from gathering the volunteers to look for Szostak, who was to continue his education at SUNY Plattsburgh next semester.

Albany Police spokesman Detective James Miller said he wasn't aware of such a conversation, but that the police's K-9 and mounted units, as well State Police helicopters, had searched since Sunday for the college student.

The search Wednesday, which included help from Albany and Rensselaer county sheriff's deputies, the Selkirk and Albany fire departments and Albany and Bethlehem police, ended just before dark on Wednesday afternoon with no signs of Szostak. A boat was deployed into the Hudson River near the Normans Kill while a helicopter conducted a third search.

Szostak's father, Bill, a retired firefighter from Green Island, reached out to area firefighters, police and friends to help search for his son Wednesday. Some were telephoned; others heard by word of mouth.

The crowd gathered at the corner of Grand and Arch streets to pick up fliers with Szostak's picture and description on it. Citizen volunteers were taken by Capital District Transportation Authority bus to North Pearl to tape fliers to windows and talk to business owners about Szostak's disappearance.

Another bus took firefighters and police to the southernmost portion of the port near Normanskill Street, where the stolen car was found.

Szostak's Saturday evening started at Elbo Room on Delaware Avenue, where he and a group of friends were celebrating another friend's 21st birthday. Szostak's father then says the group took a cab to North Pearl Street. Szostak's mother said Joshua's friends couldn't find him before they left the Bayou Cafe. A surveillance camera at North Pearl and State streets showed Szostak walking by himself down North Pearl around 12:15 a.m.

A surveillance camera at the state Department of Environmental Conservation Operations Support Facility on Smith Boulevard at the Port showed that someone stole a Dodge Durango out of the DEC's parking lot in the early morning hours Sunday. Szostak's cellphone was found near the lot.

The car, which had major damage to its undercarriage, was found at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday. Miller said police are trying to sweep the car for fingerprints.

Searchers Wednesday were seen wading into snow-covered brush that rested between Normanskill Street and the Normans Kill.

Miller said Szostak's credit cards and bank account hadn't been used since Sunday, and he has apparently not contacted any friends or relatives.
Members of Szostak's family gathered at the search meeting site on Grand Street and wiped away tears, knowing how difficult it would be for Szostak to survive if he was outside for almost four days in weather as cold as 20. His father gave a brief description of his son, including a scar above his eyebrow that he got at age 10 from running into a rocking chair.

"I'm hoping for the best, but he's in a T-shirt," Mary Beth Szostak said, breaking down. Joshua Szostak also was wearing a hooded sweat shirt when he went missing. "This is nothing he would ever do," she said.

Joshua Szostak, who worked at an area Hannaford supermarket, was taking a break from SUNY Plattsburgh this past semester and attending classes at Hudson Valley Community College. The 2004 Catholic Central High School graduate is studying journalism and has dreamed of being a foreign correspondent.

"He's one of the nicest people I've known," said 25-year-old Latham resident Matt Altimari, who worked with Szostak at Hannaford for three years. Altimari joined the search Wednesday.

Joshua Szostak's Facebook page, an Internet profile site that allows people to network with friends and strangers, was filled with pleas from friends that Szostak come home safely.

"God is watching over you to make sure that you are safe and he's going to aid us all in the search for you," said one person who posted a message. Stanforth can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at lstanforth@timesunion.com.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=650398&category=REGION&newsdate=12/27/2007&TextPage=1

[Grande]

Help sought to solve mystery of missing man
Albany police hope tips from public will help locate missing college student after ground search turns up nothing
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published: Friday, December 28, 2007

ALBANY -- Albany police hope the media attention surrounding the disappearance of 21-year-old Joshua Szostak will bring in leads, as the ground search has largely been exhausted.

Albany police spokesman Detective James Miller said searchers Wednesday covered much of the area between a downtown bar on North Pearl Street, where Szostak was last seen, and the Port of Albany, where his cellphone was found. They turned up no clues in the college student's disappearance.

Szostak's cellphone was found at the same location as a car that had been stolen from a state Department of Environmental Conservation office at the port on Smith Boulevard. The DEC Dodge Durango was driven through a locked gate on the property, said DEC spokesman Yancey Roy.

The car's undercarriage was damaged and the car was left at the end of an access road in the southernmost portion of the port off Normanskill Street. Police are investigating the connection between the car theft and Szostak's disappearance.

A boat searched the Hudson River near the mouth of the Normans Kill, near where the car was abandoned, and a State Police helicopter flew over the area three times. More than 150 citizens and police and fire volunteers helped with the search Wednesday.

Miller said police hope the attention surrounding the case and fliers posted all over Albany's downtown will lead to tips from the public. He said police will continue to interview Szostak's family and friends and will monitor Szostak's credit card and bank accounts.

"I don't know how much more of the ground search we'll be doing," Miller said Thursday.

Szostak's father, Bill, of Latham, said that the volunteer group Rensselaer County Search and Rescue had a tracking dog Wednesday follow Szostak's scent starting at the Bayou Cafe, 79 N. Pearl St., where he was last seen at 12:15 a.m. Sunday.

Bill Szostak, a retired Green Island firefighter, said he thinks his son was walking southwest back to his car, which was left at the Elbo Room, 170 Delaware Ave. Bill Szostak said the search and rescue dog walked to Delaware and Park avenues and stopped.

No one from Rensselaer County Search and Rescue could be reached for comment Thursday. The group does tracking for various police agencies.

Szostak's family still believes that someone robbed and harmed Joshua on his walk back from the bar.

Szostak was attending Hudson Valley Community College this past semester, with plans to return to SUNY Plattsburgh to study journalism.

"He got separated from his friends and that's all that happened. He's a good kid," Bill Szostak said. Stanforth can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at lstanforth@timesunion.com.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=650655&category=REGION&newsdate=12/28/2007

[Grande]

Search is tonight for missing man
By DAVID FILKINS, Staff writer
Last updated: 8:40 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2007

ALBANY - Family and friends of Joshua Szostak will retrace his steps tonight, hoping to find the missing 21-year-old who disappeared on Dec. 23.

Bill Szostak said the search for his son will start at 10:30 p.m. outside the Bayou Cafe on North Pearl Street, where Joshua was last seen, and will end near the Elbow Room on Morton Avenue, an area where police dogs have indicated he walked to.

Family and friends will wear sweatshirts bearing Joshua's face in hopes that someone on the street will recognize him from the night of his disappearance and be able to provide information.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=651111&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=12/29/2007

[Grande]

Fingerprints yield no clue to missing man
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
Last updated: 3:27 p.m., Friday, January 4, 2008

ALBANY -- Police have been unable to identify fingerprints lifted from a Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle stolen from the Port of Albany the same night a 21-year-old Latham man went missing downtown.

Detectives had hoped the prints might establish whether or not the theft is linked to the disappearance of Joshua Szostak, whose cell phone was later found in the street near the facility.

The results neither prove nor disprove that Szostak was in the vehicle, said Detective James Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

Now, investigators will rely on DNA samples from the vehicle, which they hope will tell them whether Szostak was in the SUV, which was found damaged less than two hours after the young man was last seen.

The last known image of Szostak walking alone was taken by a surveillance camera around 12:15 a.m. Dec. 23 at the corner State and North Pearl streets. Not long before, Szostak had left the Bayou Cafe several blocks away. The last text message sent from his cell phone came at 12:17, said his father, Bill Szostak.

Miller said the DNA samples were taken to the State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany, but it was not clear when the results would come back.

The DEC vehicle, which was found at 1:40 a.m. Dec. 23 at the entrance to Dawson's Garage and Scarano Boat Storage, has been a puzzling aspect of the disappearance.

The Dodge Durango had sustained damage to its undercarriage. And whoever stole it apparently failed to disconnect a battery-charging machine until after it was smashed into the gate that surrounds the state facility, according to a DEC official.

Bill Szostak, however, remains focused elsewhere on a track picked up by a volunteer search crew that seemed to indicate his son was, at some point, on Park Avenue before turning south onto the west side of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Lincoln Park.

After about 100 feet, the track crosses the street and then abruptly stops, suggesting Szostak may have gotten into a vehicle, his father said.

Yet the reliability of the track, which was discovered several days after Szostak's disappearance, is in question. Miller said police have not been able to confirm it.

Meanwhile, Bill Szostak said a printing company donated 40,000 posters and 40,000 business cards with his son's photo. He and others plan to pass them out this weekend.

Also, next week police plan to search the Hudson River around the port with a new $2,400 sonar system donated to Troop G dive team last month by the Center for Hope. The group was formed by Doug and Mary Lyall, the parents of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared from the University at Albany.

A reward fund, the Joshua Szostak Search Fund, remains active and donations can be made at any Pioneer Savings Bank, Bill Szostak said, declining to say how large it has grown.

"We're numb with emotions and we're in denial," Bill Szostak said. "You watch this on TV, you give a little compassion and you change the channel. To live with it, it's a living hell."

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=652512&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=1/4/2008

[Grande]

Father of Joshua Szostak speaks out
Updated: 12/30/2007 8:30 AM
By: Britt Godshalk

LATHAM, N.Y. – “Many times you'd call him on his cell phone and you'd get a ‘Jumbo!’ or a ‘Nashadayma!’” Bill Szostak said.

That is how Josh Szostak answers his phone. Now his father wants nothing more than to hear that voice.

“At Plattsburgh he was the lead radio jockey and he was nicknamed ‘the Stag.’ You couldn't go anywhere without recognizing him and talking to him,” said Szostak. “Never did drugs, since he turned 21 he's been in college, on the weekends they go out and party and he drinks his beer. He likes his Guinness beer. Typical college kid.”

Now pleas to find the Stag flood online sites. His many friends from Plattsburgh, Hudson Valley Community College and Hannaford, where he works, wonder how a guy with such a presence could simply vanish.

It was the afternoon of December 22nd. Josh called his family's house in Latham.

“He told us he was planning to go out,” Szostak said.

Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with skulls and crossbones on the front, a white t-shirt, baggy jeans and tan sneakers, Josh headed to an Albany bar with enough money to go barhopping with friends around town. From there they went to the Bayou downtown. By midnight, the guys were ready to hit the next bar. Josh made a stop in the men's room.

“His friends said they waited about 45 minutes, they were texting him, searching around, they went in the bathroom,” said Szostak. “Through the surveillance video at the Bayou we could see that Josh bypassed them all, went outside, used the cell, looked up and down the street and couldn't see anybody, decided his friends left and started hoofin’ it towards where his car was.”

But Josh never made it that far. Video proves his car was left untouched outside the Elbo Room. As hours turned into days, search dogs were deployed to follow his scent.

“For some reason the dogs led us down Park Avenue, which is the first cross street in Lincoln Park down by Martin Luther King Monument. If you're a block away from your vehicle, why would you be deterred to go down Park Avenue, unless you happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Szostak said.

A couple days into the search - a twist. A car belonging to the state Department of Environmental Conservation was found damaged and abandoned at the Port of Albany. It had been stolen from a downtown garage, steps from where Josh's cell phone was spotted.

Police initially labeled Josh a suspect in the car theft, but later recanted that theory, saying they had no evidence to support it. Szostak says he's told Josh's prints aren't in or on the car, which is now being combed for DNA evidence. And he says Josh's cell phone provides no leads because the law bars investigators from reading text messages sent to or from it.

Now this former firefighter is facing the fact that passing days with no leads could one day diminish hope.

“We still haven't opened Christmas presents. We still wait for him to come home,” Szostak said. “I'm hoping, but working the type of job that I did for over 20 years, I know reality. I know that if my son were alive I would have heard from him. But I hope to God I'm wrong. You see it on TV. You get a little compassion while you watch the story. To live it, it's living hell.”

As he prays, he speaks of his son, often falling into the past tense.

“Josh would never say goodbye, Josh would end every conversation by saying, ‘peace,’” Szostak recalls. “He was the best son you could have.”

Police tell the Szostaks that they will be going over video from cameras set up along the Capitol to see if the police dogs were correct in the trail they think Joshua took.

Meanwhile, a fund has been set up to help in the search. You can donate at any Pioneer Bank in the Capital Region.

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:czjCsOScGdoJ:www.capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/default.asp%3FArID%3D228297+%22Josh+Szostak&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

[Grande]

Search continues for missing man
Updated: 1/5/2008 6:28 PM
By: Web Staff

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. -- Josh Szostak's friends and family were back out, searching Saturday.

The Latham man was last seen on December 22nd, leaving the Bayou café in Albany.

Szostak attended Plattsburgh State, and Saturday, some of his friends from college handed out fliers in Bethlehem.

Police said they looked at Josh's last text messages, but they didn't provide any useful information.

That cell phone was near the spot where a Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle was stolen. Police had hoped that fingerprints inside that car would offer information, but say they turned out to be inconclusive. Police say Szostak's disappearance is linked to the stolen car, but they have no concrete evidence to prove it.

State Police will also start searching the Hudson River, early next week.
They'll be using dive technology that was donated last month the Lyall family. Doug and Mary Lyall's daughter, Suzanne, disappeared in March of 1998.

Their organization, the Center for Hope, purchased the Hummingbird Technology. It uses sound waves to identify objects under water.

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=228745&SecID=33

[Grande]

New Tip Line for Missing Latham Man
Last Update: 7:19 pm

The family of a missing Latham man now has some help from a private investigator.

Patrick Anastasi is now looking into the disappearance of 21 year old Joshua Szostak.

Szostak went missing the Sunday before Christmas. He was last seen outside the Bayou Cafe in Albany. The private investigator has set up a 24 hour anonymous tip line for anyone who may have information on this case.

There is also an award being offered.

The tip line is 424-7236

http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=51e2c166-3b83-433f-9b85-0aa53899af63

[Grande]

DNA clue sought in disappearance
After fingerprint evidence comes up empty, police hope lab tests will show if Latham man was in stolen SUV
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, January 5, 2008

ALBANY -- Unable to identify fingerprints lifted from a stolen Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle, police investigators are now hoping that DNA evidence yields clues in the disappearance of a 21-year-old Latham man.
Detectives had hoped the prints might establish whether or not the theft of the vehicle from the Port of Albany is linked to the disappearance of Joshua Szostak, whose cellphone was later found in the street near the port.

But the results neither prove nor disprove that Szostak was in the DEC vehicle, which was found damaged less than two hours after the young man was last seen, said Detective James Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

Miller said DNA samples from the vehicle were taken to the State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany, but it was not clear when the results would come back.

The last known image of Szostak walking alone was taken by a surveillance camera around 12:15 a.m. Dec. 23 at the corner of State and North Pearl streets. Not long before, Szostak had left the Bayou Cafe several blocks away. The last text message sent from his cellphone came at 12:17, said his father, Bill Szostak, who continues to lead the search for Joshua.

Szostak said a printing company donated 40,000 posters and 40,000 business cards with his son's photo. He and others plan to pass them out this weekend.

Also, next week police plan to search the Hudson River around the port with a new $2,400 sonar system donated to the Troop G dive team last month by the Center for Hope. The group was formed by Doug and Mary Lyall, the parents of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared from the University at Albany in 1998.

The DEC vehicle, which was found at 1:40 a.m. Dec. 23 at the entrance to Dawson's Garage and Scarano Boat Storage, has been a puzzling aspect of Joshua Szostak's disappearance.

The Dodge Durango had sustained damage to its undercarriage. And whoever stole it apparently failed to disconnect a battery-charging machine until after it was smashed into the gate that surrounds the state facility, according to a DEC official.

Bill Szostak, however, remains focused elsewhere -- on a track picked up by a volunteer search crew that seemed to indicate his son was, at some point, on Park Avenue before turning south onto the west side of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Lincoln Park.

After about 100 feet, the track crosses the street and then abruptly stops, suggesting Szostak may have gone into a vehicle, his father said.

Yet the reliability of the track, which was discovered several days after Szostak's disappearance, is in question. Miller said police have not been able to confirm it.

A video about the search for Szostak has also been posted on YouTube.com.

A reward fund, the Joshua Szostak Search Fund, remains active and donations can be made at any Pioneer Savings Bank, Bill Szostak said, declining to say how large it has grown.

"We're numb with emotions and we're in denial," Bill Szostak said. "You watch this on TV, you give a little compassion and you change the channel. To live with it, it's a living hell."

Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@ timesunion.com.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=652612&category=ALBANY&BCCode=LOCAL&newsdate=1/6/2008

[Grande]

Sonar Search for Missing Student
Albany, New York - January 9, 2008

Police will use a new sonar device to search for a missing Plattsburgh State student. Joshua Szostak, 21, was last seen three weeks ago leaving a bar in Albany. A few hours later his cell phone was found near a stolen car. Police believe they are somehow related.

Wednesday, investigators planned to use a sonar device to search portions of the Hudson River. It can search to a depth of 60 feet.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=7598605&nav=4QcS

[Grande]

Police Say Hudson River is New Target in Szostak Search
Updated: Jan 9, 2008 10:45 AM CST

The search for missing 21-year-old, Joshua Szostak, goes to the Hudsron River on Wednesday. Search crews are using a sonar device, looking for clues about where Szostak might have gone or how he disappeared.

Szostak was last seen leaving the Bayou Cafe in Albany on December 23rd. Since then, family and more than a hundred supports have led massive search efforts, trying to retrace his steps and look for clues.

James Miller of the Albany Police Department commented on the basis the serach effort has ran on. He said, "This is all based upon ... and we don't know if he definitely did or not,"

If searchers turn up no clues during the comb of the river, a police spokesperson says it will be back to the drawing board in terms of where the investigation goes from there.

http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=7599097

[Grande]

Future of search still uncertain
Hudson River sonar hunt fails to find Latham man as police weigh more time on the water

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=653884&category=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=&newsdate=1/11/2008

[KittyMom]

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=229737


1/17/2008 12:57 PM
By: Web Staff

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A source close to the Joshua Szostak case said Albany police and State Police cadaver dogs are searching the north end of the Port of Albany near the truckstop.

The 21-year-old has been missing since the early morning hours of Dec. 23 after a night out at the Bayou Café in downtown Albany. Police believe he was last seen at the port.

According to the source, the dogs are actually doing a routine training exercise. But the detectives decided to put them to work on a real case as part of that training.

Anyone with information is asked to call Albany police at (518) 462-8038 or the anonymous tipline set up by the family at (518) 424-7236. You can also send an email to locatejosh@yahoo.com.

[Grande]

Szostak family raises money
Updated: 1/21/2008 9:46 AM
By: Curtis Schick

COLONIE, N.Y. -- The search for Josh Szostak, 21, is costly in many different ways. The family pays an emotional price everyday. The questions of what happened to Josh still do not have answers nearly a month after he disappeared after leaving the Bayou in downtown Albany. And keeping the search for answers going is not cheap.

"You can't tell your creditors, sorry my son's missing, and not make your car payment," said Bill Szostak.

So, with help from Bill Szostak's co-workers at North Colonie Transportation, a community helped Szostak's search stay solvent. Hundreds filled up on food and filled up the donation jar at the Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department. Szostak said the money is used for every aspect of the search and rescue, from the filling the reward fund to paying the private investigator.

"I'm seeing people I haven't see since my grade school years," said Bill Szostak.

"Having children myself and with a missing young man it was the right thing to do," said Tad Nix, Carrabba's proprietor.

Carrabba's in Colonie provided the food and a dozen volunteers. Nix said along with the raffle, the event will raise at least $40,000.

"We try to do as much as we can for the community. They give so much to us, we try to give back as much as well," said Nix.

And while Szostak has not had to search far to find help from the community, he said the search for Josh will never stop.

"Every option that I have I am exercising it any favor I need, I am calling it in," said Szostak.

Szostak said the search continued Sunday with divers resuming their search of the Hudson.

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=230003&SecID=33

[Grande]

Search For Missing N.Y. Student Continues Locally
UPDATED: 12:16 am EST February 14, 2008

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- It has been six weeks since Plattsburgh State student Josh Szostak went missing in Albany, but the local search is still on.

Friends of Szostak continue to post flyers with his photograph and are now selling ribbons for $1 a piece to raise money for the search.

Plattsburgh State staff members are joining the effort by circulating information on the Internet.

Students are also planning benefit concerts with the help of WQKE, the campus radio station.

http://www.wptz.com/news/15297707/detail.html

[Grande]

Body Found in Hudson River in Troy
Reported by: Walt McClure
Email: waltmcclure@fox23news.com
Last Update: 10:46 pm

Troy Police are investigating after a passerby found a body in the Hudson River on Saturday. A gruesome discovery -- and now a difficult investigation for police -- after a man's body is found in the Hudson River in Troy.

The body was found by a man walking his dog near the river just before 4:00 Saturday afternoon.

He then called 911 -- and fire and police units responded to the area at the end of Madison Street where it meets the river.

Crews were able to remove the decomposed body from the water -- and were able to determine that it is a man.

Investigators have ruled out that it is the body of either missing Greenwich boy Jaliek Rainwalker or missing Latham man Joshua Szostak -- but have not been able to determine more about who the victim is and how he got there.

Capt. John Cooney/Troy Police Department: “Race is absolutely undetermined at this point. Age and other factors are very difficult to determine due to the decomposition of the body. We do have distinctive clothing that we won't elaborate on but certainly factors are present which should help us preliminarily come up with an identity of the deceased.”

Sources tell Fox23 News that the body may have been tied down with cinder blocks, although police would not confirm that.

They will say they are looking at the possibility the body could be that of 22-year-old Shelton Grant of New York City, last seen in downtown Troy back in November.

http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=76fefd10-53f5-40de-bb85-484927201502

[packy]

Another one found in water. So sad.

[Pauli]

Body found in Hudson River identified

TROY, N.Y. -- An autopsy on a body found on the bank of the Hudson River confirms it is that of Shelton "Shawn" Grant of New York City.

Grant went missing from downtown Troy on the morning of November 30, 2007. He was last seen in the area of State and Fourth streets. His body was found Saturday by a man walking his dog near the river.

Troy Police are calling Grant's death a homicide and are conducting an extensive criminal investigation.

Anyone with information about Grant's death is asked to give Troy Police a call.

http://capitalnews9.com/content/top...ed/Default.aspx (http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/112819/body-found-in-hudson-river-identified/Default.aspx)

[packy]

Remains found in Menands, NY will be compared with Joshua.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=677410&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=4/2/2008

The remains were found in a wooded patch just off a driveway behind an apartment building which backs up to Route 378.

Police are comparing the remains with known missing persons cases, including the November disappearance of Washington County youth Jaliek Rainwalker and the December disappearance of Joshua Szostak, a Latham man who was last seen outside an Albany bar

[Nut44x4]

The body is of a woman...
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/decom...thorities.html

[packy]

I get a 404 error and when I go to home it is not clear is this is the same case.

[packy]

Waiting for DNA.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=677410&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=4/2/2008

Police are trying to determine if the remains are Denise Hart, 43, was last seen at about 7 a.m. Nov. 11 as she left a Schenectady group home where she worked with developmentally disabled adults. Investigators found blood when they searched Hart's apartment in Schenectady's Wade Lupe Townhouses late last year. Her mattress was also missing.

[Faith]

Flying Drone Aids Jaliek Rainwalker Search

http://www.fox23news.com/media/news/5/8/5/585b87a0-4081-4c66-84a9-c78de5bc3838/Story.jpg

Law enforcement officials are taking to the sky in their search for Jaliek Rainwalker.

A mechanical drone scoured southern Washington County on Friday, looking for any sign of the missing 12-year-old East Greenwich boy.

The technology is not much more complicated than a remote-controlled airplane with a digital camera in it.

"We've got some optimal conditions right now," says Gene Robinson of RP Search Services. "There's not very many leaves on the trees and we've got bright sun so we'll be able to image and detail quite a bit of area very rapidly."

Robinson, a Texas pilot, developed the airborne technology.

Now, he travels the world, volunteering his time and expertise.

"We've gotten very good at detecting things in pictures that don't belong," he explains.

Robinson works with Texas EquuSearch - the national group that helped look for missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba and is now searching for Rainwalker who has been missing since November.

A ten megapixel camera mounted in Robinson's drone takes hundreds of images of the ground.

Investigators then compare those images with old pictures, looking for evidence of change.

Robinson tells FOX23 News that the technology has helped close five cases since 2000.

He says, "One of our finds was is we found a white speck and marked that out and it happened to be a tennis shoe."

Cambrige-Greenwich Police tell us Friday's search focused on wooded areas near the Batten Kill in southern Washington County.

Chief George Bell explains, "There's parts of the Batten Kill River that it's been too unsafe to get in."

On Friday morning, the drone first went up over the Batten Kill Country Club - one of the areas law enforcement officials first searched in the days after Rainwalker's disappearance.

Barabara Reeley, Jaliek's adoptive maternal grandmother, looked on as the drone flew.

She's letting Robinson stay with her while he's in the Capital Region.

Coincidentally, Graham Kerr, Rainwalker's adoptive paternal grandfather, was finishing up a game of golf as the search for his grandson began.

"I said, 'Hi Graham' and embraced him and he pushed me away," Reeley tells FOX23 News.

Kerr didn't want to discuss the search or his son, Stephen Kerr - the only "person of interest" named in Rainwalker's disappearance.

Before leaving the country club, Kerr loaded his golf clubs into the back of the gold Chrysler minivan that the family's attorney refuses to let police reanalyze.

"It's unconscionable not to look for a child," says Reeley. "It's unconscionable."

Chief Bell tells FOX23 News that officials collected more than 200 images from Friday's search and will now begin to analyze them.

Robinson and his drone will help search for missing Latham man Joshua Szostak on Saturday before they return to Washington County on Sunday.

http://www.fox23news.com (http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=fb37baae-c2d8-4f67-81a1-4259fb925dc6)

[Pauli]

Body in river believed to be missing Latham man
COXSACKIE -- State Police were investigating the discovery of a body found late this afternoon in the Hudson River.

Few details were immediately available, but authorities speaking on a condition of anonymity said they believed the badly decomposed corpse is that of Latham resident Joshua Szostak, who disappeared after drinking with friends on North Pearl Street in December.

State Police and Greene County Sheriff's Deputies were in the process of setting up a command post to coordinate forensic efforts.

How the body was found was not immediately known.

The discovery occurred just days after a special drone plane was brought in to help search for Szostak and Jaliek Rainwalker, a 12-year-old who has been missing for months from Washington County.

The circumstances surrounding Szostak's disappearance have been a mystery: His cellphone was found at the scene of an attempted vehicle theft at the Port of Albany, 2 miles from where he was last seen. The car was found abandoned, with no trace of its driver.

A surveillance camera at North Pearl and State streets showed that Szostak was alone around 12:15 a.m. the day he disappeared. His parents believe Szostak, who had about $500 with him, was possibly mugged and somehow harmed.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/st...sdate=4/22/2008 (http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=682860&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=4/22/2008)

[Pauli]

Family Confirms Joshua Szostak's Body has Been Found

The body removed from the Hudson River near Coxsackie has been confirmed by family members to be that of missing man Joshua Szostak.

Albany Public Safety spokesman James Miller tells CBS 6 News that they do believe it is the missing Albany man, but police won't confirm the identity until tomorrow after an autopsy is performed. Miller says personal items located on the body indicate that it is him but a confirmation has not been formally made and may have to wait until the autopsy tomorrow.

Szostak was last seen on December 23rd leaving the Bayou Cafe in downtown Albany; he was reported missing by his family a few days later.

The body was spotted by a man who says it was floating in the river; he immediately called 9-1-1.

http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/body_1254732___article.html/unconfirmed_looking.html

:1222423::1222423::1222423:

[Pauli]

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Body found in Hudson that of Josh Szostak

Updated: 04/22/2008 10:06 PM

By: Web Staff




http://images.capitalnews9.com/media/2008/4/22/images/01PEOPLE_josh_szostak.jpg
GREENE COUNTY -- A source close to the family says the body found in Coxsackie is Joshua Szostak. They say the clothing he was wearing matched what Joshua was wearing on the night he disappeared. Albany Police have also said the body is Szostak.

The body was sent to St. Peter's Hospital in Albany for an autopsy.

Szostak disappeared two days before Christmas after spending the night in downtown Albany. State Police say Szostack's body was found
http://capitalnews9.com/Images/watch_video_txt.gif
Body found in Hudson that of Josh Szostak
Police have identified the body found in the Hudson river as Joshua Szostak. Ken Jubie has been covering the story for us and joins us now from St. Peter's Hospital where an autopsy will be performed.
http://capitalnews9.com/Images/cart_play.gif (http://javascript<b></b>:watchVid('70387');)





http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/114672/body-found-in-hudson-reportedly-josh-szostak/Default.aspx

[Faith]

Body found in Hudson that of Josh Szostak
Updated: 04/22/2008 10:06 PM

GREENE COUNTY -- A source close to the family says the body found in Coxsackie is Joshua Szostak. They say the clothing he was wearing matched what Joshua was wearing on the night he disappeared. Albany Police have also said the body is Szostak.

The body was sent to St. Peter's Hospital in Albany for an autopsy.

Szostak disappeared two days before Christmas after spending the night in downtown Albany. State Police say Szostack's body was found

by a boater. Some of Joshua's personal belongings were also found, including keys and money.

Stay with us for updates on the story. We will bring them to you as soon as we find more information.

http://capitalnews9.com (http://capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/114672/body-found-in-hudson-that-of-josh-szostak/Default.aspx)

[Faith]

:1222423::1222423::1222423:

[Grande2]

My thoughts are with Joshua's family :1222423:

[KittyMom]

:1222423:

[packy]

:1222423:

[Nut44x4]

The Times Union (Albany, New York)

April 24, 2008 Thursday

Police closing Szostak case;
Autopsy says Latham man's death was the result of an accidental drowning

ALBANY - Joshua Szostak, whose body was found Tuesday in the Hudson River, drowned accidentally, officials said Wednesday.

The badly decomposed remains were identified as Szostak's after an autopsy at St. Peter's Hospital, which also determined his cause of death, said Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, pathologist for the Albany County Coroner's office.

Hubbard said blood and tissue samples will be tested for any traces of alcohol or drugs. The results will not be available for about two weeks.

A boater discovered the body at about 2 p.m. Tuesday near the Coxsackie boat launch and called 911. State Police responded and discovered personal items on the body, including a wallet and more than $400.

Based on the autopsy results, Albany Public Safety Spokesman Detective James Miller said "the Albany Police Department, which conducted the investigation as a missing persons case, will be closing the investigation."

Szostak, 21, of Latham, had been out on the town in Albany early Dec. 23 to celebrate a friend's birthday. The evening began at the Elbo Room on Delaware Avenue, then the group took a cab to North Pearl Street.

But Szostak's friends couldn't find him before they left the Bayou Cafe. A surveillance camera at North Pearl and State streets showed Szostak walking alone just after midnight.

The circumstances surrounding Szostak's disappearance had been a mystery until Tuesday. His cellphone was found at the scene of a state Department of Environmental Conservation car stolen at the Port of Albany. The car was abandoned, with no trace of a driver.

Albany police initially said they believed Szostak stole the car, but later said they were investigating a connection be tween the car theft and Szostak's disappearance.

Just last week, friends and relatives celebrated Szostak's 22nd birthday, which was actually a week earlier, April 12. On Saturday, at the party for his son at The Crossings in Colonie, Bill Szostak said he was holding out hope that "we can bring him home within the next couple of days."

The father was banking on the success of a special drone plane from Texas that was helping search for his son and Jaliek Rainwalker, a 12-year-old from Greenwich who has been missing since Nov. 1.

The Szostak family had said they believe foul play was involved in their son's death. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Funeral arrangements for Szostak have not yet been set.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:781159784&start=16

[Nut44x4]

The Times Union (Albany, New York)

April 28, 2008 Monday

A second look into Szostak case;
Renowned pathologist Baden will conduct new autopsy on body of youth found in river

Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael M. Baden said Sunday afternoon he will conduct a second autopsy on the body of 21-year-old Joshua Szostak in the next few days.

Baden, reached by phone in Manhat tan on Sunday, said he wouldn't discuss the case and referred questions to Szostak's father, Bill.

Bill Szostak wouldn't confirm Baden's involvement in the case. But he repeated his belief that foul play was involved in the death of his son, whose body was found last week floating in the Hudson River in Coxsackie - four months after he was last seen leaving a bar in downtown Albany.

"I agree it's not accidental," Bill Szostak said, adding he may have more to say on Wednesday.

An autopsy completed last week at St. Peter's Hospital by the Albany Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death an accident due to drowning.

After his disappearance on Dec. 23, 2007, Joshua Szostak's cellphone was found outside a Port of Albany Department of Environmental Conservation garage where a car had been stolen. The car was driven to the Port of Albany and abandoned. There was no trace of Szostak at that location.

Albany police say they've closed the investigation and that the autopsy showed no signs of a struggle in Szostak's death. His wallet and $400 were also found in his pocket.

Baden, who has a private consulting practice and has been a medical examiner for 45 years, is known for is work on high-profile murder cases involving O.J. Simpson and Phil Spector, and for his appearance on the HBO documentary series "Autopsy." He also is chief forensic pathologist for the State Police.

Albany police spokesman Detective James Miller said Sunday that Baden is getting involved at the request of the Szostak family, and not as part of his duties with the State Police.

April 28, 2008
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:782938235&start=9

[Roamer]

Good. I'm glad to hear they aren't just letting it go.

[LiveLaughLuv]

Bill Szostak wouldn't confirm Baden's involvement in the case. But he repeated his belief that foul play was involved in the death of his son, whose body was found last week floating in the Hudson River in Coxsackie - four months after he was last seen leaving a bar in downtown Albany.

"I agree it's not accidental," Bill Szostak said, adding he may have more to say on Wednesday.

I don't know if foul play was involved or not. Take into consideration, he left a bar, was probably drinking and could have fallen into the river. They did find money is his wallet, so no robbery gone wrong. He could have been disoriented and being drunk could not swim or got caught up in currents or rip tides, rivers are unpredictable.

Then I read about the car that was stolen and wonder who stole it, was he alone? with someone? too many open questions.

I know the parents want closure, I sure hope they get theirs whether they find it accidental or not! If they deem it a homicide, too many months have gone by, it will be very difficult to find a perp involved in this.

Hoping for the best for this family.

[KittyMom]

I don't blame the parents for wanting a private autopsy, but I'd be hesitant to believe anything Michael Baden found.

[Faith]

I have great respect for Dr. Michael M. Baden.


Series Of Suspicious Drownings Could Be Connected To Region

POSTED: 7:05 pm EDT April 28, 2008


PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Two former New York Police Department detectives reportedly want to look into the death of Plattsburgh State student Joshua Szostak after his body was found last week in the Hudson River.

http://www.wptz.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/video.gif
Series Of Suspicious Drownings Could Be Connected To Our Region (http://www.wptz.com/video/16041350/index.html)

He vanished after a night out with friends in Albany in December.

The former NYPD detectives have been investigating dozens of deaths of young male college students found dead in the water. They believe there is a gang of people leaving smiley-faced symbols behind after they kill young men. The detectives found the smiley faces after several deaths in the Midwest.

Szostak's father said he has not been able to reach the detectives yet to see if they are going to investigate the case.

The mother of missing Middlebury student Nicholas Garza said her friends have been trying to reach the detectives. She said she believes her son did not wander off and wants the detectives to look at the case.

http://www.wptz.com/news/16041448/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

I don't blame the parents for wanting a private autopsy, but I'd be hesitant to believe anything Michael Baden found.


May I ask why? Just curious.

[KittyMom]

May I ask why? Just curious.

Two words...Phil Spector.

[Nut44x4]

Is this Joshua's dad in this video or is this man talking about a different Josh??
http://www.wyff4.com/video/16099696/index.html?source=CNN

[Nut44x4]

Second Autopsy Confirms PSU Student Drowned
Plattsburgh, New York - April 30, 2008

A second autopsy performed on the body of Joshua Szostak came to the same conclusion, he died from an accidental drowning.

The missing Plattsburgh State student's body was found last week in the Hudson River, just outside Albany. At the request of his parents, a well known forensic pathologist conducted another autopsy and concluded that Szostak was not the victim of foul play.

Meanwhile, a candlelight vigil to remember Szostak will be held Wednesday night at Plattsburgh State. It begins at 9 p.m.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8248404&nav=menu183_2

[Nut44x4]

Ex-cop: Szostak murder victim: Retired policeman says he believes drowning was work of "Smiley Face" killer
Released : Sunday, August 03, 2008 4:00 AMAug. 3--ALBANY -- A retired detective says Joshua Szostak, whose body was found in the Hudson River four months after he was last seen leaving a downtown bar, was abducted and murdered by the "Smiley Face" killer.

Kevin Gannon, a retired New York Police Department detective who has tracked the case through his company, Nationwide Investigations, said his assertion is based on markings found in the Albany area as well as the circumstances surrounding Szostak's Dec. 23 disappearance.

"We have a cumulative amount of evidence to substantiate that Josh was probably drugged, abducted and murdered," Gannon said by phone last week. "I can't tell you exactly what it is, because it would warn the Smiley Face if he knew anything about us."

The Smiley Face theory emerged as Gannon and his colleagues have tried to link the deaths of some 40 students who went missing and later were found drowned in 11 states over the past decade. In each case, a smiley face was found spray-painted nearby. Gannon's investigation has been reported in newspapers and on radio and television.

All the victims are white men between the ages of 19 and 23 who were high academic achievers and many played competitive sports. Gannon said Szostak, a 21-year-old SUNY Plattsburgh student, fit that profile.

Detectives in Albany, and elsewhere in the country, have rejected the theory.

Szostak's death was ruled an accidental drowning shortly after his body was discovered in April by a Catskill fisherman, based on autopsy findings. A spray-painted smiley face was found on a tree near the Port of Albany, but police spokesman Detective James Miller said it was not linked to Szostak and was likely a "cruel hoax."

Bill Szostak, Josh's father, always suspected foul play. In addition to contacting Gannon, Bill Szostak had an independent autopsy of his son performed by noted pathologist Michael Baden. It concluded Josh drowned and had a blood alcohol content of 0.126.

Gannon said Baden's report did not specify how long Josh Szostak had been in the water, leading him to believe he did not drown accidentally.

"So much evidence has been found that I don't understand why the case was closed (by Albany police) within two hours of finding my son's body," Bill Szostak said recently. He said he has formed a nonprofit organization, the Smiley Face Victims Investigation Fund, and will hold a fundraiser Sept. 5 at the Verdoy Fire Department to raise money for Gannon's efforts.

Detective Miller stood by Albany's investigation.

"We worked on it in excess of multiple days from the course of his initial disappearance, and there had never been any credible evidence from retired detectives working on the investigation that gave us any indication that anything happened beyond a tragic accident," he said. "This should not have gotten to this point. This was strictly a tragic accident, and no one should be using it to further their own agenda." Vielkind can be reached at 454-5043 or by e-mail at jvielkind@timesunion.com.

http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=316319071

[packy]

Thanks, Nut, for updating this and also updating it on the Smiley Face forum. They're saying evidence that he was probably drugged, so I wonder if that is on the autopsy report since they are saying "probably."