Gary Shawkey, 44, Missing [FOUND SAFE] Santa Anna, CA

[Faith]

Partner of Boat-Trip Missing Man Vanishes
May 14, 2008, 1:10 PM PDT

http://bc.images.trb.com/media/thumbnails/story/2008-05/38858163-14125006.jpg

Orange County sheriff's detectives are stepping up their search for motivational speaker Gary Shawkey, a "person of interest" in the disappearance of his business partner in February, a spokesman said today.

The 44-year-old Shawkey, a Virginian, is regarded as "a key figure" in the disappearance of Robert Lee Vendrick, 71, of Phoenix, Ariz., said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

Vendrick arrived in the Southland on Feb. 15, rented a car at the Long Beach Airport and was reported missing by his wife when he failed to return home.

He had come to the Southland to meet with Shawkey and what he thought were "highly placed government officials" to receive a $1.2 million return on an investment in software programming, according to investigators.

Vendrick and Shawkey were last seen together on a sailboat at Dana Point Harbor. The small boat that Vendrick bought -- ostensibly to sail with Shawkey to San Clemente Island, which is controlled by the U.S. military -- turned up several days later in Long Beach.

Divers searched two miles of Dana Point Harbor on Feb. 21 but found no trace of Vendrick.

Now, Shawkey is also officially listed as a missing person, Amormino said.

On Sunday, Shawkey -- the only one named as a person of interest in connection with Vendrick's disappearance -- checked into a Santa Ana motel, called a sheriff's homicide detectives and said he was going to Mexico to pick up Vendrick, Amormino said.

He also contacted a former co-worker, telling the ex-colleague that if he did not hear from him by noon Monday, he should alert the Sheriff's Department because "something awful" would have happened to him, the spokesman said.

Sheriff's investigators went on Monday to the motel where Shawkey was registered and found personal items -- including toiletries, a wallet and a passport -- and the television still on, Amormino said. But Shawkey was nowhere to be found.

http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-shawkey-vendrick,0,1107224.story


Robert Lee Vendrick's thread

http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2771

[Faith]

Key figure in OC missing-man case vanishes
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 05/14/2008 01:30:18 PM PDT

SANTA ANA, Calif.—The key figure in the February disappearance of an Arizona businessman has also vanished, an Orange County sheriff's spokesman said Wednesday.

Gary Shawkey, 44, left a voicemail Sunday telling a sheriff's homicide investigator that he was heading to Mexico to pick up the missing man, Robert Lee Vendrick, 71, of Phoenix.

"He claimed to have seen him in various border towns in Mexico," sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Amormino said Shawkey also told a co-worker: "If I'm not back at 12 o'clock Monday afternoon, something awful happened to me."

The co-worker called the Sheriff's Department the next day after the deadline. Investigators went to the Santa Ana motel room where Shawkey had placed the call and found the television on and Shawkey's possessions untouched, including his wallet, passport, keys and medication, Amormino said.

"Everything's there, except him," Amormino said. "He's an official missing person."

"This is certainly a very bizarre case," he said.

Shawkey is a motivational speaker from Virginia who runs several Internet-based companies and co-authored a motivational autobiography called "If I Can ... Anybody Can."

Amormino said he is a "person of interest" and a "key figure in the case"—but not a suspect—in the Feb. 16 disappearance of Vendrick.

Vendrick invested more than $1 million in a computer program venture with Shawkey and he vanished a day after arriving in Southern California to seal the deal, authorities said.

Vendrick told his wife he was preparing for a boat trip to San Clemente Island to close the deal with some secret government workers, Amormino said.

A search began after he failed to return home to Phoenix. Investigators later found a 23-foot sailboat in Long Beach that Vendrick had purchased with Shawkey.

Shawkey told investigators the two sailed out of Dana Point harbor but Vendrick changed his mind during the trip and he took him back to shore and went on alone to Long Beach, Amormino said.

Investigators discovered that the boat's anchor, anchor rope and engine had been replaced, Amormino said.

Shawkey told investigators that the original engine malfunctioned before the trip and he bought another and left the original on a dock. He also claimed to have thrown away an anchor and lost another at sea, Amormino said.

Divers recovered an anchor in the Dana Point area but investigators have not been able to confirm that it belonged to the boat, Amormino said.
http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_9258332

[Faith]

Orange County - Missing Person / Suspicious Circumstances


On Monday, 2/18/08, at about 8:20 P.M. Mr. Vendrick was reported as a missing person to the Orange County

Sheriff’s Department and remains missing under suspicious circumstances. Gary L. Shawkey has been a person of
interest in Vendrick’s disappearance and had been in contact with investigators up until 5/11/08. Mr. Shawkey
has recently claimed to have seen Mr. Vendrick in various border towns in Mexico. Mr. Shawkey checked into an
Orange County hotel on May 11, 2008, stating he would be traveling to Mexico on May 12, 2008, to meet with Mr.
Vendrick. He told a friend if he had not called him by 12:00 on May 12th, 2008, to contact the Orange County
Sheriff’s Department to report he did not make his scheduled phone call.

Orange County Sheriff’s Investigators made a welfare check at Mr. Shawkey’s hotel room and discovered he was
overdue to check out and left personal property in the room. No one has spoken to Mr. Shawkey since May 11th,
2008, and we have not been able to make contact with him.

We are unable to confirm if Mr. Shawkey crossed the Mexican border or is missing of his own volition at this time.
Anyone with any information regarding Mr. Shawkey’s whereabouts is asked to please contact the Orange County
Sheriff’s Department at numbers provided below.

(714) 647-7055 / 24 hrs (714) 628-7170
ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT – HOMICIDE / MISSING PERSONS DETAIL
OCSD DR# 08-030768A FCN# 3730813400280 Date of Bulletin: 5/13/08
ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT
MISSING PERSON
P.O. BOX 449, SANTA ANA, CA 92702 PHONE (714) 647-7000

http://www.mymurrieta.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/susp.jpg
Gary A. Shawkey
Male, Caucasian, 5’7”, 290+ Lbs., Brown hair, blue eyes, salt/pepper colored beard
and mustache, DOB 9/21/63


http://www.mymurrieta.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/miss.jpg
Robert Lee Vendrick
Male, Caucasian, 6’00”, 180 Lbs., Grey hair, hazel eyes, DOB 1/30/37

http://www.mymurrieta.com/wordpress/?p=1142

[Faith]

Partner of missing man vanishes

The Orange County Register
updated 10:15 a.m. CT, Wed., May. 14, 2008

SANTA ANA – A motivational speaker named as the only person of interest in the disappearance of his business partner after a boat trip in February has also mysteriously disappeared. Authorities are also searching for a third person who may have met with the now missing business partners just days before one of the partners disappeared.

In the latest twist in an already bizarre case, Gary Shawkey, 44, of Virginia has apparently disappeared after returned to Orange County on Sunday to look for his missing investment partner, Robert Vendrick, a 71-year-old married diabetic from Phoenix, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Vendrick has been missing since Feb. 16, a day after he arrived in Southern California to meet with Shawkey and "highly placed government officials" to receive a $1.2 million return on his software programming investment.

Shawkey and the $1,000 boat he and Vendrick bought showed up several days later in Long Beach. Vendrick remains missing.

Three months later, investigators say, Shawkey appears to have disappeared in an eerily similar way to his business partner. A day after flying into Orange County and checking into the Golden West Lodge at Main Street and the I-5, Shawkey disappeared.

Shawkey checked into the motel about 12:50 p.m. Sunday and left a message for Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ken Hoffman, who is investigating Vendrick's disappearance and has been in constant contact with Shawkey. Shawkey told Hoffman he was headed to Mexico to look for Vendrick. Hoffman was not in the office on Sunday and did not speak to Shawkey, Amormino said.

Shawkey also called a co-worker to ask that if he didn't call back by noon Monday, to call Hoffman, Amormino said. Shawkey's call never came – and the co-worker called authorities.

Acting on the tip from Shawkey's concerned co-worker, investigators went to Shawkey's room Monday afternoon, Amormino said. The television was on. Shawkey's passport, wallet, medication and toiletries were all left behind – just as Vendrick's were the day he disappeared from his Dana Point hotel.

"He's now an official missing person," Amormino said. Authorities are looking into reports that Vendrick and Shawkey met with a third unidentified person in Phoenix on Feb. 9, just a week before Vendrick disappeared.

Sheriff's investigators believe Vendrick and Shawkey sailed out of Dana Point between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Feb. 16 for what Vendrick believed was a trip to cash in on their get-rich-quick scheme.

But Shawkey said Vendrick had a change of heart during the trip, and Shawkey told investigators he returned the older man to shore. Shawkey said he continued on alone, sailing the 23-foot sailboat to Long Beach, unaware of the fate of his partner.

Sailboats maneuvering into the private dock routinely draw complaints to the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol, but there were no complaints about the sailboat making its way back to the dock Feb. 16.

Investigators later discovered the anchor, chain and engine of the tiny sailboat were replaced before authorities took possession of the craft as part of their investigation into Vendrick's disappearance.

Shawkey told investigators that both the anchor and chain were lost at sea after he dropped off Vendrick at Dana Point Harbor. Shawkey purchased a new chain and anchor when he arrived in Long Beach a few days later, said Amormino.

Divers searched a 2-mile stretch of the Dana Point Harbor on Feb. 21. Divers recovered an anchor and portions of a chain but have been unable to verify if they belonged to the Odyssey.

The engine of the sailboat was also replaced, and authorities said it could provide investigators with clues as to what happened to Vendrick.

Sheriff's investigators discovered that the 4-stroke 1993 Honda outboard engine that the boat originally had was replaced sometime between Feb. 15, the day Vendrick arrived in Southern California, and Feb. 19.

The Odyssey was bought by Shawkey and Vendrick from a San Clemente man Feb. 14. Although Vendrick had no sailing experience, he was listed on the boat's purchase receipt.

Shawkey told investigators that the engine was not working properly and he purchased a brand new engine Feb. 15, Amormino said.

It is not the first time Shawkey has gone to look for his missing business partner. While investigators were still combing the area for clues, Shawkey left California in early March to attend a bikers' week in Florida, "to look for the missing man," authorities said. Shawkey was in Florida, but there was no sign of Vendrick.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24616364/

[Faith]

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Boat-trip mystery thickens: Partner of missing man vanishes

Gary Shawkey, 44, disappears after he says he's going to look for Robert Vendrick, 71 – missing since February, when they bought a boat together.
By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register
Comments 45 | Recommend 5

SANTA ANA – A motivational speaker named as the only person of interest in the disappearance of his business partner after a boat trip in February has also mysteriously disappeared. Authorities are also searching for a third person who may have met with the now missing business partners just days before one of the partners disappeared.

In the latest twist in an already bizarre case, Gary Shawkey, 44, of Virginia has apparently disappeared after returned to Orange County on Sunday to look for his missing investment partner, Robert Vendrick, a 71-year-old married diabetic from Phoenix, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Vendrick has been missing since Feb. 16, a day after he arrived in Southern California to meet with Shawkey and "highly placed government officials" to receive a $1.2 million return on his software programming investment.

Shawkey and the $1,000 boat he and Vendrick bought showed up several days later in Long Beach. Vendrick remains missing.

Three months later, investigators say, Shawkey appears to have disappeared in an eerily similar way to his business partner. A day after arriving in Orange County on a Greyhound bus and checking into the Golden West Lodge at Main Street and the I-5, Shawkey disappeared.

Shawkey checked into the motel about 12:50 p.m. Sunday and left a message for Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ken Hoffman, who is investigating Vendrick's disappearance and has been in constant contact with Shawkey. Shawkey told Hoffman he was headed to Mexico to look for Vendrick. Hoffman was not in the office on Sunday and did not speak to Shawkey, Amormino said.

Shawkey also called a co-worker to ask that if he didn't call back by noon Monday, to call Hoffman, Amormino said. Shawkey's call never came – and the co-worker called authorities.

Acting on the tip from Shawkey's concerned co-worker, investigators went to Shawkey's room Monday afternoon, Amormino said. The television was on. Shawkey's passport, wallet, medication and toiletries were all left behind – just as Vendrick's were the day he disappeared from his Dana Point hotel.

"He's now an official missing person," Amormino said. Authorities are looking into reports that Vendrick and Shawkey met with a third unidentified person in Phoenix on Feb. 9, just a week before Vendrick disappeared.

Sheriff's investigators believe Vendrick and Shawkey sailed out of Dana Point between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Feb. 16 for what Vendrick believed was a trip to cash in on their get-rich-quick scheme.

But Shawkey said Vendrick had a change of heart during the trip, and Shawkey told investigators he returned the older man to shore. Shawkey said he continued on alone, sailing the 23-foot sailboat to Long Beach, unaware of the fate of his partner.

Sailboats maneuvering into the private dock routinely draw complaints to the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol, but there were no complaints about the sailboat making its way back to the dock Feb. 16.

Investigators later discovered the anchor, chain and engine of the tiny sailboat were replaced before authorities took possession of the craft as part of their investigation into Vendrick's disappearance.

Shawkey told investigators that both the anchor and chain were lost at sea after he dropped off Vendrick at Dana Point Harbor. Shawkey purchased a new chain and anchor when he arrived in Long Beach a few days later, said Amormino.

Divers searched a 2-mile stretch of the Dana Point Harbor on Feb. 21. Divers recovered an anchor and portions of a chain but have been unable to verify if they belonged to the Odyssey.

The engine of the sailboat was also replaced, and authorities said it could provide investigators with clues as to what happened to Vendrick.

Sheriff's investigators discovered that the 4-stroke 1993 Honda outboard engine that the boat originally had was replaced sometime between Feb. 15, the day Vendrick arrived in Southern California, and Feb. 19.

The Odyssey was bought by Shawkey and Vendrick from a San Clemente man Feb. 14. Although Vendrick had no sailing experience, he was listed on the boat's purchase receipt.

Shawkey told investigators that the engine was not working properly and he purchased a brand new engine Feb. 15, Amormino said.

Homicide investigators executed two search warrants at Shawkey's house in Mechanicsville, Va. two weeks ago, carting out several computers and other items, Amormino said. Forensics experts are still going through the computer files in the hopes of finding leads to Vendrick's whereabouts.

Shawkey's latest bus trip is not the first time the motivational speaker and author has gone to look for his missing business partner. While investigators were still combing the area for clues, Shawkey left California in early March to attend a bikers' week in Florida, "to look for the missing man," authorities said. Shawkey was in Daytona Beach, but there was no sign of Vendrick.

Last week, he was in Brownsville, Tex. looking for Vendrick.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or kedds@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shawkey-vendrick-investigators-2042244-feb-amormino

[ferretplay]

:eyebrow1qb:Key figure in missing-man case found in Arizona
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - The key figure in the February disappearance of an Arizona businessman has been captured after vanishing earlier this week.

Gary Shawkey was apprehended by Border Patrol officials as he crossed from Mexico into Nogales.

A spokesman for the Orange County, California, Sheriff's office says Shawkey is on a bus back to Santa Ana, where he will be interviewed by homicide investigators.

Authorities say Shawkey claimed he had gone to Tijuana to speak to his missing business partner, 71-year-old Robert Vendrick of Phoenix.

Shawkey left a voicemail Sunday telling a sheriff's homicide investigator that he was heading to Mexico to pick up Vendrick.

Shawkey is a motivational speaker from Virginia who runs several Internet-based companies.

Authorities say Shawkey is a "person of interest" and a "key figure" - but not a suspect - in the February 16th disappearance of Vendrick.

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=8327054&nav=menu86_1

[Faith]

Oh this is great news!! Thank you ferret.

[Faith]

Key figure caught in vanishing of Phoenix man
The Associated Press

The key figure in the February disappearance of an Arizona businessman was apprehended Wednesday after vanishing earlier this week.
Gary Shawkey, 44, was apprehended by Border Patrol officials as he crossed from Mexico into Nogales, said Orange County, Calif. sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

Shawkey was being returned Wednesday evening to Santa Ana, Calif., where he will be interviewed by homicide investigators, Amormino said.
Shawkey claimed he had gone to Tijuana to speak to his missing business partner, authorities said.
Shawkey left a voicemail Sunday telling a sheriff's homicide investigator that he was heading to Mexico to pick up the missing man, Robert Lee Vendrick, 71, of Phoenix, who has been missing since February.
Shawkey told Arizona law enforcement that he had gone to Tijuana and met Vendrick and "had every intention of turning him over to Border Patrol, but Vendrick jumped on a bus to Mazatlan instead," said Amormino.
According to Amormino, before Shawkey left California, he told a co-worker: "If I'm not back at 12 o'clock Monday afternoon, something awful happened to me."
The co-worker called the Sheriff's Department Monday. That afternoon, investigators went to the Santa Ana motel room where Shawkey had placed the call and found the television on and Shawkey's possessions untouched, including his wallet, passport, keys and medication, Amormino said.
Police declared Shawkey, Vendrick's former investment partner, a missing person.
Shawkey is a motivational speaker from Virginia who runs several Internet-based companies.
Amormino said Shawkey is a "person of interest" and a "key figure" - but not a suspect - in Vendrick's Feb. 16 disappearance.
Vendrick invested more than $1 million in a computer program venture with Shawkey and he vanished a day after arriving in southern California to seal the deal, authorities said.
Vendrick told his wife he was preparing for a boat trip to San Clemente Island to close the deal with some secret government workers, Amormino said.
A search began after he failed to return home to Phoenix.
Investigators later found a 23-foot sailboat in Long Beach that Vendrick had purchased with Shawkey.
Shawkey told investigators the two sailed out of Dana Point harbor but Vendrick changed his mind during the trip and he took him back to shore and went on alone to Long Beach, Amormino said.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/breakingnews/85387.php

[Faith]

Person of interest in Phoenix missing man case found

More Phoenix Local News

10:25 PM Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, May 14, 2008

PHOENIX - The key figure in the disappearance of an Arizona businessman has been captured after vanishing himself this week.

Border Patrol officers caught up with Gary Shawkey as he crossed from Mexico into Nogales. Shawkey told authorities he went to Tijuana to speak to his missing business partner, 71-year-old Robert Vendrick.

Vendrick, who is from Phoenix, disappeared in February while on a business trip to California with Shawkey.

Shawkey left police a message on Sunday saying he was headed to Mexico to pick up Vendrick but he was alone when picked up at the border.

Tonight, Shawkey is headed back to California to speak with homicide investigators about Vendrick's case.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/Scottsdale_local_news_051408_missing-man-poi-found.ffb5dbd8.html

[Nut44x4]

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
UPDATE: Partner of missing man claims he is alive
Gary Shawkey, 44, claims he found Robert Vendrick, 71 – missing since February, when they bought a boat together.
By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register
Comments 85| Recommend 8
SANTA ANA - A motivational speaker named as the only person of interest in the disappearance of his business partner after a boat trip in February is back in Orange County with a wild tale of his adventures in Mexico of finding his missing friend, only to lose him on a bus in Tijuana.

The disappearance of Robert Vendrick, a 71-year-old diabetic from Phoenix, was strange from the start. But the story appears to becoming stranger by the day as his investment partner – and the central figure in his vanishing – crisscrosses the United States on Greyhound buses looking for him. All the while, Gary Shawkey, a 44-year-old self-help author and investment guru, keeps Orange County Sheriff's investigators apprised of the near-misses with his friend, Bob.

Bob, he claims, is alive and well. And Shawkey says he wants to help find him.

Shawkey, who lives in Virginia with his wife and two teenage children, was discovered Wednesday afternoon in Nogales, Mexico, by Mexican authorities who noticed he was on a missing person's list. Orange County officials put Shawkey on the list after he abruptly disappeared from his Orange County motel room over the weekend, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Vendrick showed up Feb. 15 in Southern California to meet with Shawkey and “highly placed government officials” to receive a $1.2 million return on his software programming investment. Vendrick and his brother Fred had deposited thousands of dollars into an account belonging to Shawkey, money needed to seal the government contract. The deal never happened. Vendrick and Shawkey disappeared Feb. 16.

Shawkey and the $1,000 sailboat boat he and Vendrick bought showed up several days later in Long Beach. But Vendrick was not aboard. Shawkey, who has a reputation bilking investors across the United States out of millions, claims Vendrick had a change of heart and backed out on the deal.

But Bob, along with boat's original motor, anchor and some metal chain remain missing.

Three months later, investigators said, Shawkey appeared to have vanished in an eerily similar way to his business partner. A day after arriving in Orange County on a Greyhound bus and checking into the Golden West Lodge at Main Street and the I-5, Shawkey himself disappeared.

Shawkey had checked into the motel about 12:50 p.m. Sunday and left a message for Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ken Hoffman, who is investigating Vendrick's disappearance and has been in regular contact with Shawkey. In his message, Shawkey said he was headed to Mexico to look for Vendrick.

Shawkey also called a co-worker to insist that if he didn't call back by noon Monday, to call Hoffman, Amormino said. Shawkey's call never came – and the co-worker called authorities.

Investigators went to Shawkey's room Monday afternoon. The television was on, his passport, wallet, medication and toiletries were all left behind – just as Vendrick's were the day he disappeared from his Dana Point hotel. Shawkey was nowhere to be found. He was declared a missing person.

After being handed over to U.S. officials, Shawkey called Orange County investigators from Nogales, Ariz. to tell them he had found Vendrick in Mexico and was bringing him to the Border Patrol when Vendrick jumped off the bus in Tijuana. He was headed to Mazatlan, Shawkey told investigators. Shawkey arrived in Santa Ana by bus about 6:45 a.m. Thursday and talked to Sheriff's investigators about his now-international quest to find his missing partner.

Vendrick remains missing. Shawkey is staying in Orange County, voluntarily. Authorities have not arrested Shawkey, or named him a suspect in Vendrick's disappearance. Officials are also searching for a third unidentified person who may have met with the two business partners Feb. 9. in Phoenix, just days before Vendrick vanished.

Two weeks ago, homicide investigators executed two search warrants at Shawkey's house in Mechanicsville, Va., two weeks ago, carting out several computers and other items, Amormino said. Forensics experts are going through the computer files.

Shawkey's latest bus trip is not the first time the motivational speaker and self-help author has gone to look for his missing business partner. While investigators were still combing the area for clues, Shawkey left California in early March to attend a bikers' week in Florida, “to look for the missing man,” authorities said. Shawkey was in Daytona Beach, but there was no sign of Vendrick.

Last week, he was in Brownsville, Texas, looking for Vendrick.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shawkey-vendrick-investigators-2042244-feb-amormino?slideshow=1