Craig Frear is still missing.Seventeen year old Craig Frear was last seen about 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 27, 2004, walking toward the woods behind the Cambridge Manor apartment complex in Scotia, NY where he had been visiting his ex-girlfriend. He called his parents to say he was on headed home, but he never made it there. His car was left in the parking lot of the apartment complex, and he has not been seen since.
Scotia is a small village of 8,000 people about 20 miles northwest of Albany, NY (upstate NY). According to the Times Union, police and family believe Frear was following paths in the woods that link Cambridge Manor with his family's home on the Yorkshire Court cul-de-sac in Schenectady, NY, just a short distance away. Railroad tracks cut through most of that area, but police say there were no signs that he was hit by a train. The area has since been searched numerous times by hundreds of people, and search dogs have also been used, and nothing has been found. Similar searches of the nearby Mohawk River have turned up nothing.
Frear's social security number has not been used since his disappearance, indicating that he has not paid taxes, opened a bank account or applied for a job in the United States. He was not carrying a cell phone, any cash ($40 was left in his bedroom), credit cards, clothes or his driver's license. His license had been stolen at school, and he had not gotten a new one.
Timeline
The night before he disappeared, Craig Frear slept at his friend Matthew Holub's house. The pair had been friends since age 10, and they were co-captains of their high school soccer team. Holub told the Times Union that Frear was upset about a break up with his long-term girlfriend but gave no indication that he planned to run away or hurt himself.
The following day, Frear visited the ex-girlfriend at the Cambridge Manor apartment complex. While he was there, his mother spoke with him on the phone and told him she and his father had found out he was not showing up for his job at the Price Chopper. Craig had actually lost his job at the supermarket after two months of employment and had been hiding it from his parents. He told his mother he would be home in 10 minutes, the time it would take to drive.
Two middle-school students told investigators they saw Frear walking along the tracks, away from where he parked his car. It would have been a 45-minute walk, but Frear never made it home.
Quick Facts:
Name/age: Craig Frear, 17
Last seen: 6/27/04, Cambridge Manor Apartments, Scotia, NY
Physical Description: Caucasian, 5'11", 190 pounds, red hair, brown eyes, dimples, sometimes wears goatee; wearing white short-sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans or jean shorts, white Adidas sneakers with three black stripes, gold chain with a St. Christopher medal
The one thing that bothers me about this case is the fact that he left his car behind and decided to walk home (or to his grandparents home as some speculate) through the woods. This makes me feel uneasy. Why would he decide to walk instead of getting into his car and driving there? Why would he leave his car behind? Yes, he definitely could have encountered "foul play" walking in those woods - especially because there are railroad tracks there and there is always the possibility of encountering shady characters in that type of environment. Or maybe he really did decide to leave it all behind and run away. He was having a very hard time during that period of his life - had broken up with his girlfriend, lost his job, had an argument with his parents about the loss of his job. It's just that car issue that really makes me wonder if he could have just run away or sadly committed suicide.
ReplyDeleteHis mom said that his dad had gone to the gfs house and was waiting by Craig’s car for him to come out. She thinks Craig saw him and didn’t want to deal with the confrontation at that time. I have doubts he ever left the gfs house alive though.
DeleteI don't think he did either. I believe,as do the police, that if he killed himself he would have turned up by now.
DeleteConcerned-Please document your claims of this young man's personal problems and the timeline.
ReplyDeletefor ex. did he break up with his girlfriend 2 years before or the day before.
argument with parents
loss of job
You are so concerned that everyone sadly commits suicide so there doesn't have to be an investigation. You are good.
None of the "facts" you claim are reason to commit suicide.
His mom said He had multiple gfs at the same time. I doubt he was that distraught. Plus they probably would have found the body.
DeleteThis website is crawling with trolls.
ReplyDeleteFrear may have left his car behind thinking of running away or suicide, but if he wanted to commit suicide, he would have known he could have done it just as easy, or easier, if he used his car as a tool. I'm thinking he was just needing something to help cool himself down, and walking can be an excellent stress-reliever for many people. It's a great possibility that he did in fact encounter in foul play, and if this is true, did the police investigate every area possible? Every lake and river around? It's not as common for someone to kidnap a 17 year old man. They would have murdered him by now, and his remains could be anywhere, and if this foul play was by a random person/random people walking around, since he didn't seem to have any enemies, they would have most likely never murdered anyone before and wouldn't have taken the body overly far away. If he was dead, the police should be able to come up with a body.
ReplyDeleteWhy do the missing persons sites state that he went missing at 2pm, not midnight? He was last seen at his girlfriends? Does she say how they left things? What is his connection to San Diego?
ReplyDeleteMaybe because he went missing at 2 pm?
DeleteHe was never seen again after 2 pm that day.
Why would you think he disappeared at midnight?
craig was about to get into his car when he was waived down by a tall dark headed guy named steve or steven and taken into the woods, once there he was killed and disposed of he is either buried near the water tower or was weighted down in the body of water near the tower
ReplyDeleteThe source of when and how Craig left is the girlfriend, who now refuses to speak to the police. She is the last person known to have seen him, and repainted her apartment shortly after his disappearance. She also will not speak with his family.
ReplyDeleteCraig is my cousin.
The mom didn’t mention this on Unfound.
DeleteHe saw his father waiting for him at his car and did an about face and went out the back door or the apartment building, down a sidewalk, across a street and into a thin stand of trees, not a forest. The railroad area was wide open for everyone to see what happened.
DeleteThere are no back doors to those apartments
DeleteI think this is a perfect example of of the Scotia Police being unqualified and terrible at their job. Is there even a Detective in scotia? If this problem was addressed and solved years ago, as it should have been,(joining the Scotia Police Deoartnebt with the Glenville PD) there would have been real detectives on the job and there would be some closure to the family. Once agian, Scotia P.D., hats off to you for doing your best to never perform a good service to the people who pay your salaries. I hope Criag Frear is found soon and it exposus the inadequacies of the Scotia Police Department.
ReplyDeleteI could say that Craig and I are cousins through Richard and Barbara, though we have never met. Since his disappearance I can't seen to get him off of my mind. I had a dream about Craig and cannot let it go. I feel like the missing piece of evidence is that little "needle in a haystack" that is being simply overlooked. It's a very sad story...but the truth always comes out. Have faith that Craig's case will be solved.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about the connection between the girlfriend and Craig's disappearance. Could she have wanted him out of her life bad enough to invite him over and then send him to the woods to wait for her, so they can talk, and when he arrives there, encounters the foul play she has set up???? Is this a love triangle?? It is very unsettling that he would leave his car and walk home. Wouldn't that be an inconvenience for him in the long run??? Leaving the wallet and personal belongings behind at his house....does this signify that the girlfriend called him unexpectedly and told him to come over quick?? I think BCI needs to focus in on the girlfriend and who she is connected to. Something just doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteI think something happened at his gfs house.
DeleteI never read all of these comments until now. Why is everyone so focused on the girlfriend? From what I've heard from Craig's old high school friends, he and his father were not on good terms. And Craig was depressed and miserable at home. I really feel like he ran away to escape it all. Think about it. Why would someone leave their car, ID, money and everything behind and set out on foot? He knew what he was doing, I think. And I believe he went to say goodbye to his girlfriend. But that's just my opinion. Whether he's still alive now? I couldn't begin to speculate on. He definitely could have come home by now.
ReplyDeleteIf he went to say goodbye, then why doesn’t the mother know about that. She was on Unfound and said that Craig just went over to visit the gf. I’d like to know what they talked about.
DeleteHe didn’t get along with his father and his mother admits in their last conversation she was literally screaming at him. Yeah, sounds like something really great to go home to.
DeleteMy heart goes out to those left behind in this case...originally a Scotia native I remember well those woods and the swampy terrain..we called it "frog pond" and the mud and mire was very thick in places..As a child I played there frequently and in one incident I was almost literally "sucked down" into the mire, it had the rolling consistancy of quicksand. As crazy as it sounds my husband did mention the possibility that he may have misstepped in those late hours and been "pulled under"...My hope is that he did just runaway and that someday he will return..my own children were about the same age when he disappeared..
ReplyDeleteWhat late hours? He left her apartment at 2 pm and if you will google an aerial view of those apartments you will learn that it was just a small copse of trees. No deep dark swampy forests anywhere nearby.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a sad and unsettling story, but if you don't know all of the facts then you shouldn't speculate. Insulting the police department is moronic. Do you know them, or work with them...do you know what is like to be a police officer...no, then. Keep your mouth shut. That doesn't help Craig or his family. My wish for all involved that some kind of closure is found...and soon.
ReplyDeleteThe idiots all blame the police and call them inept. Ignore them. Maybe they will need the police someday.
DeleteStories like this disturb me. Enough to the point where I sometimes google additional information. Here is one of the things that I found. There's still hope in a weird sort of way:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_b22b4f7e-6f9d-58b3-9890-53f81d1b278e.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNew video:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7370327n
I dont know much about the case so forgive me if i get anything mixed up.
ReplyDelete-Craig breaks up with his girlfriend.
-Craig Frear slept at his good friend Matthew Holub's house. (Guys have feelings, guys need to hang out and talk about things sometimes)
-Craig was upset about the break up with his long-term girlfriend but gave no indication that he planned to run away or hurt himself.
-Craig visited his ex-girlfriend at the Cambridge Manor apartment complex.(for what reason?)
-His mother spoke with him on the phone and told him she and his father had found out he was not showing up for his job at the Price Chopper. (his parents are pissed, he should probably get home, right?)
-Craig says he will be home in 10 minutes. (10 minutes means he plans on driving) (45 minutes probably means he walking through the woods)
-His car was left in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
-Craig was last seen walking towards the traintracks and woods?
The area has since been searched numerous times by hundreds of people, and search dogs have also been used, and nothing has been found. Similar searches of the nearby Mohawk River have turned up nothing.
I dont think Craig went into the woods. I dont think Craig would leave his car at his house unless he planned on going back later on that evening. I dont really know if i believe that Craig left the apartment voluntarily.
like i said forgive me if im wrong because i dont know the real details or the family, the friend, or the exgirlfriend, i just know what i read.
Anyone know the girlfriend's name, and when they broke up?
ReplyDeleteThis is something I was gonna ask. Does anyone know her name? The ex girlfriend?
DeleteThat's what I want to know.What's her name?
DeleteThat's what I want to know.What's her name?
DeleteThat's what I want to know.What's her name?
DeleteI question the testimony of the two boys who said they saw Craig walking in the woods. It's possible they were shown a photo of Craig and asked if they had seen him to which they replied, yes, we saw him. The correct thing to do would have been to ask the boys if they had seen anyone walking in the woods and if they said yes, they should have then been asked to give a description of the man they saw and see if that matched Craig's description. It's possible there was more than one man out and about in the woods.....like maybe a man who had killed Craig, especially since the boys said he put his fingers to his lips and said, shhhhhh. I suspect the solution revolves around the breakup with the girlfriend, the loss of the job, and not wanting to deal with his parent's anger. Also some other things were happening like the stolen driver's license, etc. and I'm getting a feeling there was some illegal drug activity involved. Also it doesn't make clear if Craig and the ex-girlfriend were the only ones at her apartment or if someone else was there (like someone who killed Craig) and the girlfriend had never come forward with that information.
ReplyDeleteThat finger to lips shhhh thing is a lie, the kids who saw him admitted they made that up.
DeleteWe have a new Facebook page set up that has been getting a lot of feedback about the case. Hopefully this will shed some light on your question.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1921437404787753/
I strongly believe that Craig had a secret relationship with the same sex via at work (Price Choppers) with one of the truckers at the loading dock and as a result Craig for some reason did not want to go back to work scared he would be outed by the trucker etc. I strongly also believe that this led to foul play between that person and Craig. This is just my own theory.
ReplyDeleteI think you are close to the truth, but didn’t quite get it right. I think he and one of the truckers were having an affair. That would explain why he went back to where he had worked - in order to stay in touch. I think that is who gave Craig the phone number. Craig had had it with his home life, left all his ID at hone, went by to say goodbye to his ex and gave the man a call and they arranged a pick up place. Craig walked down the railroad and got into the man’s vehicle and I pray they live happily ever after.
DeleteDidnt cops do luminol in the gf's apt?????????
ReplyDeleteMaybe this has already been disproved, but has it ever been speculated that he walked into the woods to relieve himself? Especially if he did hold a finger up to signal "shh" to the kids? I'm not saying I know what happened after that, but it seems more likely than leaving a car to walk 45 minutes. Plus it seems like a reasonable action for a 17 year old boy.
ReplyDeleteThey found out a while ago that the whole shhh gesture thing was a lie. It never happened, the kids were young who said this incident hurts.
DeleteI’m quoting his mother now. “Something was going on with Craig that I didn’t know about. There were several little things, but it wasn’t until he went missing that I realized that they were red flags.”
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that something was going on and when he got ready Craig walked away into a new life - with help from one of his truck driver friends from the Price Chopper loading dock.
Who’s name?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone questioned the truck driver that he became newly friends with at Price Chopper? Did this truck driver work the day of or day after Craig went missing? Is he still employed? Were they "romantically involved"? This hasnt made sense to me since the day it all started unravelling back in 2004. Still breaks my heart today. We all want more answers.
ReplyDeleteThe truck driver theory was dismissed.
ReplyDeleteIt's all speculation, really. I think the father is the key to it, but he is gone now. It's all very sad. I do hope the truth comes out someday.
ReplyDeleteHis father was angrily waiting by his car. Craig saw his father and tried to escape into the woods. He feared his father. Probable scenario is father followed him into the woods and got into a physical altercation, where he hurt or strangled him in blinding rage. Craig obviously feared him for good reason. He left his wallet because he was not taking his car and planned on hiding or escaping from his dad until he left.
ReplyDeleteMy position is his dad could have murdered him and covered it up to save face. If he's never been on a lie detector or routinely investigated, its poor investigation. That is the only suspect that is viable. The rest of scenarios do not make viable sense.
I think the father killed him and the mother and brother know it.The father died from alcoholism in a house by himself estranged from his family. That speaks volumes to me.The family know where he Craigs body is.Im pretty sure of that.
ReplyDelete