Thomas J. Booth, 24 MSG [FOUND DECEASED] Last seen in Ridley, PA on 1-20-08

[Grande]

Police searching for man last seen at bar
The News Journal
Posted Friday, January 25, 2008 at 12:28 pm

http://i28.tinypic.com/fcjqf4.jpg
Thomas J. Booth

New Castle County Police seek the public’s help locating a 24-year-old man missing since early Sunday morning.

Thomas J. Booth of the Brookland Terrace Community in Wilmington traveled with friends to the Bootleggers Bar in Ridley, Pa., Saturday night and last was seen at the bar around 1:30 Sunday morning, police said.

He did not return home and needs to take medication, police said.

Booth last was seen wearing a black leather jacket, a blue button-down dress shirt and blue jeans. Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Jeff Shriner at 395-8110.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NEWS/80125019

[PatC]

Good ---fairly early --catch. I'm surprised there's no more info in the article though.

Like... who reported him missing... what meds are he on... last seen with... vehicle info?

[KittyMom]

So, this guy has been missing for a week or do they have the days wrong? It's still Saturday here. :waitasec:

[Grande]

So, this guy has been missing for a week or do they have the days wrong? It's still Saturday here. :waitasec:

It's from last weekend, sorry for the confusion. I had to look at it twice too, lol.

No further details as far as I know at this point.

I will check daily.

[packy]

The public can't help much with scanty information. My hope is they find him or maybe have found him by now. So many times we don't seem to get follow-ups on some of these reports.

[KittyMom]

http://www.co.new-castle.de.us/webadmin/home/userfiles/policeNewsReleases/image/125missingmanthomasbooth.doc

[KittyMom]

Myspace bulletin.

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: BOOTLEGGERS
Date: Jan 24, 2008 1:14 PM


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/zugglotusmaster/TommyBooth_Missing.png


Tommy Booth, age 24, from Wilmington, Delaware. Last seen at Bootleggers Bar in Ridley Township, PA, on Saturday night, 1/19/08. Has epilepsy and does not have his medication with him.

Missing person reports have been filed with Delaware State Police (Det. Shriner, 302-395-8171) and Ridley Township Police (Ofc. Nick Borak, 610-532-4002). Case # 3208008464. If you have seen him, please call one of the detectives.

[KittyMom]

http://community.myfoxphilly.com/blogs/macbush/2008/01/25/MY_SON_IS_MISSING_LAST_SEEN_AT_BOOTLEGGERS

MISSING

Tommy Booth, age 24, from Wilmington, DE. Last seen at Bootleggers Bar in Ridley Township, PA, on Saturday night, 1/19/08. White male, brown hair, head shaved, hazel eyes. Approx. 5 ft. 11 in. tall. Has tattoo on right forearm "BOOTH". Has epilepsy and does not have his medication with him.

Missing person reports have been filed with Delaware Police (Det. Jeff Shriner, 302-395-2783) and Ridley Township Police (Ofc. Nick Borak, 610-532-4002). Case # 3208008464. If you have seen him, please call one of the detectives.

A $5,000 REWARD for any information leading to his location.

[KittyMom]

http://www.nola.com/forums/searching/index.ssf?artid=39012

by kbaechtel, 1/25/08 10:39 ET
Has anyone seen my cousin, Tommy Booth? He has been missing for almost a week.It is very unusual for him to disappear.He normally talks to his mother everyday. He has epilepsy and does not have his medicaton with him.

[Grande]

Great research Kitty thank you!!

[Grande]

<Snip>

by kbaechtel, 1/25/08 10:39 ET
Has anyone seen my cousin, Tommy Booth? He has been missing for almost a week.It is very unusual for him to disappear.He normally talks to his mother everyday. He has epilepsy and does not have his medicaton with him.

MISSINGTommy Booth, age 24, from Wilmington, DE. Last seen at Bootleggers Bar in Ridley Township, PA, on Saturday night, 1/19/08. Has epilepsy and does not have his medication with him.Missing person reports have been filed with Delaware Police (Det. Jeff Shriner, 302-395-2783) and Ridley Township Police (Ofc. Nick Borak, 610-532-4002). Case # 3208008464. If you have seen him, please call one of the detectives. A $5,000 REWARD for any information leading

http://www.nola.com/forums/searching/index.ssf?artid=39012

[Grande]

http://i27.tinypic.com/2qbuqef.jpg

http://i30.tinypic.com/jac037.jpg

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11797721

[Grande]

<Snip>

bamabu
Joined: 25 Jan 2008
Posts: 2
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:03 pm Post subject:

---------------------------------------------------------------

I am Tommy's mother. Thank you to his friends and others who are praying for his safe return. This has been the worst week of my entire life and I wish I could wake up from this nightmare. I keep hoping he will walk through the door. The hardest part is not knowing whether he is still alive or not. Those who know him, know he would have called me by now if he could. To the other mean, self-righteous people who have posted here, your family should feel lucky that you would be so obediant, when to start having seizures at 23 years old, that you would stop going out drinking with friends. And to "alloftheabove" I'm glad I didn't have to read the hateful, abusive, obscene remarks some people posted on here that were removed by Admin User. I'm glad their "opinion" counts more than yours. Tommy is a wonderful young man. I'm afraid I will never get to see his smile again...... or get the chance to say goodbye.

Jeo, nobody is making excuses for him. He was encouraged not to drink, but it's not like he is a child and I can make him stop. Either way, right now I DON'T CARE. My son is missing and I just want him to come home safe, as slim as that possibility is. And you need to get off your high horse because you have never been in his situation or mine. And I hope you never have to be. You must be a doctor, Jeo....maybe I can set up an inservice for you with the neurologists so you can teach them something. He hasn't had a seizure since he has been on medication. Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe his disappearance has nothing to do with drinking or seizures? Maybe somebody just did something to him.

Last edited by bamabu on Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:16 am; edited 1 time in total

http://forums.delawareonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=71129&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&sid=765dc0d919efdea97edf692853c721a2

[Grande]

MySpace Account activity today;

http://i26.tinypic.com/2d9peer.jpg
(Screenshot Captured 01-31-08 @ 11:58 CST)

[Grande]

Missing Del. man found dead in Pa. creek after 2nd search
By TERRI SANGINITI, The News Journal
Updated Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:01 pm

The body of a 24-year-old Prices Corner man, last seen three weeks ago at a bar in Delaware County, Pa., has been recovered from the Ridley Creek nearby.

Ridley Township police Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby said the victim, Thomas J. Booth, who lives in the Brookland Terrace community, vanished Jan. 19 after patronizing Bootleggers Bar, at 1936 W. MacDade Blvd.

Booth went to the bar with friends and was last seen about 1:30 a.m.

“Some of his friends had left and the one waiting for him couldn’t find him at the end of the night and assumed that he was with someone else,” Willoughby said.

Police investigated the case as an endangered person, because Booth suffered from epilepsy and was without medication.

In the weeks following his disappearance, there was no activity on either his cell phone or bank account.

Police initially searched the area in the vicinity of the bar with no success. The location is not far from the junction of I-95 and I-476.

On Sunday, about 30 volunteers from the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue Team organized a search with about seven K-9s and searched the wooded area behind the bar and creek and the ramps to I-95, Willoughby said.

After about two hours, they found Booth lying face down in the Ridley Creek about 200 yards downstream from the bar.

Booth, who bore a tattoo on his right forearm emblazoned with the name “Booth,” was still in possession of his wallet, cell phone and medication, Willoughby said.

“There’s no obvious sign of foul play,” he said. “We don’t know what happened. I can’t figure out why he would have been back there. He doesn’t know this area, doesn’t know the bar.”

Willoughby, who said the rear of the bar is about 10 yards from the creek, said portions of the creek had been frozen in past weeks, but last weeks heavy rains and warmer temperatures had melted sections.

An autopsy was being conducted today at the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080204/NEWS/80204044

[emmeblu]

:1222423:Just makes me so sad to read where another young man has been found dead after missing from a night out.
Do you think that he took off walking and got lost, stumbled and fell into the creek. Passed out? Strange. Where were his friends. Safety in numbers and then also friends can take care of one another.

:1222423:For his family. Just tragic.

[salad71]

:1222423:Just makes me so sad to read where another young man has been found dead after missing from a night out.
Do you think that he took off walking and got lost, stumbled and fell into the creek. Passed out? Strange. Where were his friends. Safety in numbers and then also friends can take care of one another.

:1222423:For his family. Just tragic.


I totally agree with you on this one. I do think he passed out and possible drowned in that small amount of creek water.

[KittyMom]

How sad.

:1222423:

[LisaKay]

It breaks your heart and is very scary. My guess is that he might have passed out or fallen and possibly hit his head? I have young adults his age and it's a constant worry! My heart goes out to his family and friends.

[Faith]

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP — There was something about the apparent drowning of a
24-year-old man in a shallow creek behind Bootlegger’s Bar in Woodlyn
earlier this year that didn’t sit right with veteran Detective Sgt.
Scott Willoughby.

Then, last week, the investigation took a new twist with the discovery
of an eerie smiley face spray-painted under the deck of the college
bar where Thomas J. Booth was last seen. Now, investigators believe
the ghoulish find might shed new light on how the Wilmington, Del.,
man died and possibly connect his death to a series of suspicious
drownings across the country.

“You have a 24-year-old, healthy, strong kid who disappears from his
friends in a bar and all of the sudden he’s never seen again?” said
Willoughby, who is now investigating the possible connection between
Booth’s death and the deaths of at least 40 other young men in 11
states. “Really, there is a lot of weird stuff, too much for me to
discount it.”

Willoughby was referring to what some have dubbed the “Smiley Face
Murders,” a string of suspicious drownings said to be linked by a
distinctive smiley face painted near where the victims were last seen.
Retired New York detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte discovered
the disturbing connection while investigating the 1997 death of a New
York City college student who drowned after a night of partying.

The detectives, focusing on where the bodies went into the water,
found smiley-face tags at drowning scenes in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. Gannon and Duarte believe the smiley face
is the calling card of a gang of killers who target young, white
college-age men who go missing after a night on the town.

Willoughby, one of the investigators working on the Thomas Booth case,
was watching a morning news show last week when he first heard of the
“Smiley Face” deaths. He was struck by the similarities between
Booth’s death and that of the 40 “Smiley Face” victims.

“They are all between 18 and 25 years old, white males who go to a
college-type bar and get separated from their parties,” Willoughby
said. “Ultimately, they all end up drowned in some body of water.”
There were no signs of trauma on Booth’s body, according to
Willoughby. And robbery was not the motive, since several hundred
dollars, credit cards and identification were found in Booth’s
pockets.

“In all of the other cases, or at least a lot of them, the cell phones
were missing from the victims,” Willoughby said. “His phone is
missing. We can’t find it.”

After hearing the television report, Willoughby placed a call to
colleagues at the police station. Within the hour, he and several
other officers met behind Bootlegger’s. There, under the bar’s back
deck, was a spray-painted smiley face.

“It was painted right underneath the deck on the wall,” Willoughby
said. “Ours kind of matches the others. It’s done with a big circle,
with a spray-painted dot for a nose.”

Booth was last seen about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 20 sitting at Bootlegger’s
bar, a stone’s throw from the Widener University campus. The 24-year-
old master drywall finisher from Wilmington had epilepsy, but had been
seizure free for about two and a half years. Because he didn’t drive,
he had hitched a ride to the bar with several friends.

“We’ve got him on camera in the bar,” Willoughby said. “The barmaid
said he was talking to her and to three Hispanic girls. We interviewed
them, but they didn’t see him leave.”

One by one, Booth’s friends left the bar. The last one to leave was
supposed to drive Booth home, Willoughby said. Just prior to closing
time, the friend looked around for Booth, but couldn’t find him.
“His friend assumed he had just gotten a ride or hooked up with a
girl,” Willoughby said.

When Booth failed to show up at home or at work, his family reported
him missing. Police and K-9 officers teamed up with some volunteers
and searched the area around the bar, but came up empty handed.
“The night he went missing it was kind of warm out,” Willoughby said.
However, several days later, the weather turned bitterly cold. The
creek behind the bar froze over.

About a week after the original search, Booth’s body was discovered
face down in the creek behind the shopping center.

“I’m convinced he was under the ice, frozen,” Willoughby said. “The
next weekend it had warmed up and a heavy rain had melted the ice. His
body was found about 100 yards downstream from the back of the bar.”
Autopsy results from the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s office are
pending.

According to Willoughby, low levels of Xanax, which had been
prescribed to Booth, were found in his body. His blood-alcohol level
wasn’t extremely high, not enough to make him incoherent, according to
the detective.

Gannon and Duarte have asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
assistance in the investigation. After reviewing the information
provided by the two New York detectives, the FBI issued a statement
last week: “To date, we have not developed any evidence to support
links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the
theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers.
The vast majority of these instances appear to be alcohol-related
drownings.”

However, at least one of the 40 deaths has now been ruled a homicide.
As Willoughby waits to hear from the retired detectives, there are
enough unanswered questions to make him refuse to discount a possible
smiley-face connection to Booth’s death.

“One, why would he separate from his party? Two, how does he end up
drowned in a creek that is only two- to three-feet deep?” Willoughby
said. “There is no rhyme nor reason why this kid drowns in this
water.”


http://groups.google.com.vn/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/abe230b9678969f6/4d14da463d0fea04

[Faith]

On Tue, 6 May 2008 09:54:51 -0700 (PDT), Jeffy3 <jef...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

<snip>

> There were no signs of trauma on Booth’s body, according to
> Willoughby. And robbery was not the motive, since several hundred
> dollars, credit cards and identification were found in Booth’s
> pockets.
> “In all of the other cases, or at least a lot of them, the cell phones
> were missing from the victims,” Willoughby said. “His phone is
> missing. We can’t find it.”

The cellphone missing would only make sense. Even uneducated killers
know they can be veritable tracking beacons. I wonder if they can tell
in any of these cases when the battery was removed from the phone (as
I'm sure it would have been, at least in some cases, while in others
they would've been allowed to short out from the water, I'd imagine)?
I know they can in some instances find such information about a given
phone at a given time. I think that, if it can be found, would be
informative.

<snip>

> “The night he went missing it was kind of warm out,” Willoughby said.
> However, several days later, the weather turned bitterly cold. The
> creek behind the bar froze over.
> About a week after the original search, Booth’s body was discovered
> face down in the creek behind the shopping center.

I assume the bar was in a shopping center? I didn't see "shopping
center" mentioned earlier in the article when discussing where the
body was found.

I don't see this factor discussed in any of the articles to date, but
am curious if any sort of lust motive might play a factor. In either
case, I think a group of killers would be correct. It would be much
easier for multiple killers to subdue & drown a healthy (if not
slightly drunk) college kid without leaving any serious marks.

http://groups.google.com.vn/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/abe230b9678969f6/4d14da463d0fea04

[Faith]

THOMAS BOOTH

Thomas J. Booth, III.

Age 24, of Wilmington, DE went to be with the Lord suddenly on January 20, 2008.

Tommy was a 2001 graduate of Christiana High School. He was a first-class drywall finisher and proud to be a member of the Local 100, and worked at HR Porter, Inc. Tommy loved the Eagles and enjoyed watching football with his friends. He loved family gatherings and talking to everyone. He was also very artistic and loved to draw and paint. We will miss his great sense of humor.

Tommy was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Richard and Josephine MacKay, by his stepgrandfather, Robert Bush, and by his beloved cousin, Gary Ogden. He is survived by his parents, Barbara MacKay-Bush and Timothy Bush, with whom he lived; his brother, Mike, at home; and his dog, Jake. He is also survived by his father, Thomas Booth, Jr., of Newark; his paternal grandparents, Shirley and Thomas Booth of Elkton, MD; step-grandparents, Carolyn and Charles Sacks; his aunts and uncles, Cheri and Richard Buckingham, Noreen and Richard Baechtel, Rich and Beth MacKay, Michael and Eva MacKay, Bob and Marylou Ogden, Jeff and Theresa Booth, Brian and Cathy Booth, Brad and Karen Booth, Mike and Candy Bush, Brian and Dee Dee Bush, Bob Bush, and aunts Jackie and Lisa MacKay and Diane Ogden; cousins, Richard and Christopher Buckingham, David and Kim Baechtel, Wendy Moore, Richard, Brittany, and Joanna MacKay, Gregory, Scott, Brian, Laura, Kaitlin, and Kelly Booth. He will also be sadly missed by many other loving cousins and true friends, especially his best friend and mentor, Harry Porter.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a celebration of Tommy's life at the DOHERTY FUNERAL HOME, 3200 Limestone Rd., Pike Creek, on Friday, February 8, at 12 noon, where friends may visit with the family from 10 am until 12 noon. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Search and Rescue Dogs of PA, 272 Iroquois Lane, Malvern, PA 19355; or Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue, PO Box, 1163, Glenside, PA 19038.

To send condolences visit

www.dohertyfh.com

302-999-8277



[published 02/06/2008]

http://miva.delawareonline.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva?obits.mv+74961

[Faith]

There were no signs of trauma on Booth’s body, according to
Willoughby. And robbery was not the motive, since several hundred
dollars, credit cards and identification were found in Booth’s
pockets.


“To date, we have not developed any evidence to support
links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the
theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers.
The vast majority of these instances appear to be alcohol-related
drownings.”