02/13/16: Zachary Marr, 22, Boston, MA

Zachary Marr.
Photo credit: Boston police

Our thoughts go out to Zachary Marr and his loved ones.

Zachary Marr, 22, was last seen on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at the Bell in Hand Tavern near Boston's Faneuil Hall. Marr, who lived in Harvard, MA, and was a student at Mount Wachusett Community College had taken the train to celebrate his birthday with his three cousins. The group, according to a family member, was from the Leominster area of central Massachusetts and not real familiar with Boston.

After being dropped off at the train station by his father, Matthew, and riding the train, Zachary's cousin, Amanda Marr, picked him up from North Station at about 6 p.m. According to the Boston Globe on February 16, "The two drove back to her apartment in South Boston, where she prepared dinner for him: chicken, chips, guacamole, and hummus. She said they had a drink before leaving to go to the Bell in Hand art about 10 p.m."

At around 1:30 am, Zachary sent Amanda a text that he was going out to smoke a cigarette, something he had done several times that night. He was seen on surveillance at 1:40 am, standing outside the Boston Public Market, across the street from the tavern. It was a weekend that saw record cold temperatures of 9 below, but Marr just had on a pullover sweatshirt. He had left his coat in the coat check.

"He sent me a Snapchat saying they're not letting me back in, let's leave," said his cousin Amanda, "I texted him and said where are you, and he said out front and that was at 1:41 am." It was apparently last call.

One of the released surveillance images does show Marr still in front of the Market as late as 1:44 am. But by about 1:51 am, after Amanda and her cousins grabbed their coats and got outside, he was gone.

"I was trying to stay calm," Amanda told the Globe. She hoped he'd just gone for a walk, run into a friend or met a woman, and she'd hear from him later that day. But he didn't turn up.

Photo credit: Boston Public Market / NECN.com.

     Photo credit: Boston Public Market / NECN.com.

Wide shot of Bell in Hand Tavern with Boston Public Market at left.
Google image search. Photo credit: Bill Mueller, June 2015.

The restaurant said in a statement that they provided video surveillance to the police, which shows Marr did not attempt to re-enter the Bell in Hand. Video shows other customers leaving and re-entering after 1:20 a.m. and they said Marr would not have been denied access. The restaurant said another video shows Marr in front of a garage, heading toward the Surface Artery.

The Boston Globe has reported that additional surveillance video shows Marr on a walkway, then walking on train tracks before disappearing into into the river underneath the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. 

Search team near Zakim Bridge at Nashua Street.

Photo credit: Caitlin Fichtell, 

The Boston Globe, February 23, 2016

Marr's missing person's poster describes him as 5-feet-8, 175 pounds with blue eyes and short brown hair and beard. If you have additional information, call Boston Police at 617-343-4571 or Harvard, Massachusetts, Police Sgt. Coates at 978-456-1212.

Zachary's body found

Two passerbys spotted Marr's body in the water in the locks near Paul Revere Park in the Leverett Circle area at about 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Preliminary evidence indicated his death is consistent with a fall into very cold water.  The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office later added that he did not appear to suffer any trauma. Investigators have not announced an official cause of death, though they said there is no sign of foul play. 

Amanda Marr said Zachary had a few drinks that night, "but it was nothing out of the ordinary." 

Matthew Marr told the Boston Globe that he suspected Zachary might have tried to swim in the Charles River, or fell through the walkway.

Marr's paternal grandmother had passed away from breast cancer in January, and according to The Boston Globe, he was planning to help his father pack up her apartment that weekend. He had been very close to her, and while he was under some stress, nothing has been reported to indicate Marr was depressed. Marr, a graduate of Leominster High School, was a student at Mount Waschusett Community College. He was taking five classes and was doing well in school. In addition to being a full time student, he was also working full time at Quiet Logistics. The company provides shipping fulfillment for high-end retail fashion brands. Marr had just been promoted.

A funeral Mass for Zachary Marr was held Wednesday, March 23 at St. Anne’s Church, 75 King St. Littleton with burial in Bellevue Cemetery in Harvard.  

Sources:

Manning, Allison. Zachary Marr's death a 'horrible accident,' family says. March 16, 2016. Accessed January 17, 2019 from https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/03/16/zachary-marrs-death-a-horrible-accident-family-says

Claffey, Jason. Zach Marr's Body Recovered. March 15, 2016. Accessed January 17, 2019 from https://patch.com/massachusetts/westford/zach-marrs-body-recovered-0

Dore, David. Father speaks after missing LHS graduate’s body found. March 18, 2016. Leominster Champion. Accessed April 4, 2016 from http://www.leominsterchamp.com/news/2016-03-18/Front_Page/Father_speaks_after_missing_LHS_graduates_body_fou.html

Ellement, John R. Investigators search Charles River for missing man. February 24, 2016. Boston Globe.com. Accessed April 4, 2016 from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/24/divers-resume-search-for-zachary-marr-charles-river/JTO72xGL18zstqiM9rWA0H/story.html

Palumbo, Alysha and Flanigan, Kaitlin. New Images Released as Search for Missing 22-Year-Old Man Continues. February 15, 2016. NECN.com. Accessed April 4, 2016 from http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/New-Images-Boston-Search-22-Year-Old-Zachary-Marr-Harvard-Massachusetts-368845361.html

Ransom, Jan. Police search Charles River, harbor for missing Harvard man. Boston Globe.com. February 17, 2016. Accessed April 4, 2016 from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/17/officials-search-boston-harbor-for-missing-harvard-man/IyN8vLWFejiQeuT7irMfJO/story.html

Ransom, Jan. Celebration in Boston turns into missing person search. February 16, 2016. Accessed April 4, 2016 from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/15/amissing/6BE0O8J9YdUfZMkyit9OqM/story.html

Tavern says video shows missing Harvard man heading toward Surface Artery. February 15, 2016. Accessed April 4, 2016 from http://www.wcvb.com/news/tavern-says-video-shows-missing-harvard-man-heading-toward-surface-artery/38007938

10/19/11: Thomas "T.J." Murray, 23, Spring, TX

TJ Murray
MISSING SINCE 10/19/11

TJ Murray is still missing.

Thomas "TJ" Murray, 23, was last seen the night of Saturday, Oct. 19, 2011. After umpiring a Little League baseball game, he visited several bars, including On the Rox Sports Bar and Grill at 592 Sawdust Road in Spring, Texas. He was out with high school buddies, including a friend in the military who was going to be shipped overseas.

His father, Tom Murray, called TJ around midnight expecting him to be home already. TJ said he was leaving his truck at On the Rox and would be riding with friends to Rookies Sports Bar & Grill. Rookies is located at 305 Sawdust Road--the same road as On the Rox--and just 0.2 miles away.

While at Rookies, a friend reportedly called TJ's brother, James, to say that TJ was about to get into an altercation and to pick TJ up. While James was on his way, TJ was kicked out of the bar. TJ's friend had gone to the restroom and when he came back out into the bar, TJ was gone. The friend assumed TJ had left.

TJ called his father around 12:30 a.m. TJ said he had been locked out of Rookies and separated from his friends. He told his father he didn't intend to drive home and would leave his truck at Oak Ridge High School. TJ is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School, where his father has worked for 31 years as a physical education teacher.

James then arrived to pick him up, but TJ was nowhere to be found. He has not been seen since.

The next day, TJ's brother and father searched the area for any signs of TJ. His truck was still parked in On the Rox's parking lot. Soon after his disappearance, TJ's cell phone was found in a ditch near the bar. Officials would not say where it was found or if any other calls were found on the phone after Tom Murray's last call to his son. Investigators say surveillance video shows TJ in at least one of the bars that night. But cameras didn't catch whatever happened after he left. Foul play is expected in TJ's disappearance.

TJ's father, Thomas Charles Murray, Sr., has said hopes that someone knows something. "God willing, we get our son back," he said.

TJ's mother, Janelle Murray, told KHOU.com that her son is a fighter who survived leukemia after being diagnosed when he was only 5 years old. He also survived a bad car accident. “I’m just staying positive until we hear something,” she said. Sadly, just 9 months after TJ's disappearance one of his younger brothers drowned while swimming in a river.

Murray is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and he weighs 140 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing khaki shorts, a red T-shirt with white lettering on it, and a dark baseball cap.

Anyone with information about TJ's whereabouts should contact Detective Keith Funderburk, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, at 936-760-5876 or dispatch 936-760-5800.


Case Details

Name/age: Thomas "TJ" Charles“ Murray Jr., 23
College: Sam Houston State University, Junior, Consumer Science major
Physical Description: 5’6”, 140 lbs., blonde hair, blue eyes
Residence: Huntsville, Texas apartment
Last seen wearing: shorts, red t-shirt with white lettering
Last Seen: 10/19/11, Rookies Sports Bar & Grill at 305 Sawdust Road in Spring, Texas.
Status: Missing
Investigating Agency: Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, 936-760-5876 or 936-760-5800.
Links: https://www.facebook.com/bringTJhome


Posted: 01/27/12. Updated: 6/7/2019.

04/11/01: Branson Perry, 20, Skidmore, MO

MISSING/ENDANGERED
Branson Perry
Skidmore, MO

Branson Perry is still missing.

On April 11, 2001, Branson Perry asked a friend to come over to help him clean up in preparation for his father's April 13 return from the hospital. The twenty-year old had been living with his father, Bob, at 304 West Oak Street in Skidmore, Mo., and his father had been hospitalized

Branson's parents had divorced five months earlier, and his mother, Becky Klino, lived in a small town about 20 miles away. While Branson and his friend cleaned the house, two men worked to replace a broken alternator on Bob’s car that had gone out the previous day. The car was parked on the street in front of a storage shed next to the Perry home. Perry was last seen walking to the storage shed to hang up some jumper cables, then he vanished. 

Inexplicably, no one saw where he went or what happened to him.

According to a forum message by Klino, "The events of the day are fairly sketchy to me and often make no sense. I don’t have a time line of when they occurred, only sporadic comments that were made. At one point, the friend saw Branson run into the kitchen and take something out of one of the cabinets, then run out the back door. When he returned, she said he wouldn’t tell her what he was doing and acted like nothing happened. Later, she said she had taken a shower and when she came out of the bathroom, she saw one of the men that were working on the car going through the cabinets in the kitchen. She said she asked him what he was looking for and he told her nothing and went back outside."

Perry family home.
Credit: Skidmore Police Department and family.

Klino says that at around 3 p.m., Branson's friend was upstairs when she heard the front porch door close. She looked out the window and saw Branson and asked him where he was going. He replied that he was going to put the jumper cables in the storage shed and would be right back. He never returned.



Perry storage shed
Credit: Skidmore Police Dept. and family

When Bob Perry was not able to come home from the hospital on Friday as expected, Branson's grandmother stopped by to check on him. She had not heard from her grandson for a couple of days, and she was surprised to find that all the doors had been left open on the house. The radio was also on, but Branson was not there. She became concerned when she returned the following day to find that Branson still wasn't home. Calls to his friends proved fruitless; no one had seen the young man. She notified Bob Perry on Sunday, who then called Becky Klino that evening. On Monday morning, Bob was discharged from the hospital and all three met at the police station to file a missing person’s report.

The search and the investigation

When police arrived at the Perry home to investigate the disappearance, they determined that nothing of Branson's appeared to be missing. His van, wallet, and all of his personal belongings were left behind. The men working on the car told police they never saw Branson while he was on his way to the shed. The jumper cables were also not in the shed.

According to Klino, "Several people were given lie detector tests. Some passed it and some didn’t. I was not given details, which I understand." But in an odd turn of events, just two weeks after the investigation started, Klino said the jumper cables, "mysteriously showed up in the shed, just inside the door."

It is believed that Branson was lured away, possibly by an acquaintance(s).

On December 16, 2004, one of Branson Perry's relatives, Bobbi Jo Stinnett, who also lived in the small farming community of Skidmore was brutally murdered in an attempt to steal her unborn child. The case is not thought to be related to Branson's disappearance.

The year before, a possible suspect emerged. According to the Associated Press, Jack Wayne Rogers, from Fulton, had bragged in an online chat room that he had "abducted, raped and murdered a blond-haired man from Skidmore" and said "police would never find the body because of how he disposed of it in a remote area of the Ozarks." A search of Rogers's yard for possible buried evidence yielded nothing. Rogers remained the prime suspect for years, but no additional evidence has ever surfaced to link Rogers to Branson's disappearance, or to the crime he bragged about, so no charges have been filed.

Rogers denies ever having contact with Branson Perry, claiming the logs were only fantasy. Rogers was eventually arrested on several charges unrelated to Perry's disappearance. He is currently serving a 30-year sentence in federal prison with no chance of parole for child pornography and allegedly performing a gender reassignment on an individual in a motel room.

"The police are not completely ruling out Rogers," Klino wrote in a post on her forum, "but now the investigation has turned towards Skidmore again. They have received new leads there. I suppose time has a way of unraveling secrets. I believe someone in that area knows what happened to Branson. In my heart, I don’t believe Rogers is responsible. Despite the nightmare I lived through then, I am thankful that someone with that much evil will never walk the streets again. If it wasn’t for that chat log they found on the other computer, the police may never have come across that animal."


A mother's plea for justice

Becky Klino remained devoted to finding out what happened to her son. On a former website dedicated to Branson's disappearance, she wrote:

I have never been a person to ask for much. I am asking, pleading, even begging for your help in finding my son or finding out what happened to him. I need for this nightmare to end. It is a roller coaster that doesn’t ever stop. From the outside I may appear to be fine. Inside, I will never be ok. If you have ever lost someone who has died, then you know that feeling of complete despair. Over time it eases and becomes bearable.

You know the cause of what happened and you have been able to put your loved one to rest. You will always have that sense of emptiness and at times it overcomes you, but you are able to put it into perspective again. Parents of missing children never have that feeling ease. It never becomes bearable, only easier to hide. One minute you are ok and functioning, the next minute something triggers inside and you plummet to the deepest ravine you could ever imagine and can’t find any way out. It can be something as simple as a smell, a taste, a sound, a touch and all the horror is there again. It never ends.

Please, please, please find it in your hearts to come forward if you have ANY information. You may think it is insignificant, but it may be the key link to answers.

Sadly, both of Branson's parents died before ever finding out what happened to their son. Bob Perry passed away in 2004. Rebecca Kilno passed away of melanoma cancer in February 2011. It was written in Klino's obituary that she had been preceded in death by her son.

"I think she knew he wasn’t alive," said Monica Caison, founder of the CUE Center for Missing Persons, "but she always wanted to continue to look for him either way.” Branson's aunt, brother, other family members, and friends of Klino's are still looking for answers.

Sgt. Roger Phillips, an investigator for the drug and crime control division of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, says he is also committed to the investigation. “Just because (Ms. Klino) is not here doesn’t mean this train is not going to keep moving,” Phillips said. “It’s about getting to the truth.”

Due to the circumstances, Branson Perry's disappearance has been classified as Endangered Missing/Homicide and a sample of his DNA has been placed in the CODIS database, in the hopes that his remains might someday be found and returned to his family. A $20,000.00 reward is being offered for information that leads to the recovery of Branson’s remains and for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the disappearance and HOMICIDE of Branson Kayne Perry.

If you have any information about Branson Perry's disappearance, call Detective Roger Phillips, Missouri State Highway Patrol at (816) 387-2345. If you wish to remain anonymous, call the CUE Center's anonymous tip line at (910) 232-1687.



About Branson Perry

Branson Perry graduated Nodaway-Holt High School in 1999, and had been employed by a roofing company and a traveling petting zoo. He was unemployed at the time of his disappearance. Perry was a non-smoker and a weightlifter, and had a black belt in hopkido.

According to News Press Now:

For 19 years, Michael Kurz, a New Jersey police officer, has spent his off-time doing online sleuthing into Perry's disappearance. He believes that Perry's case is drug related, as does the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office. 

Perry’s aunt, Gail McMurray, said Perry was compassionate and loved nature but never knew he was involved in drugs.

“He kept that part of him away from me,” she said. “I knew about him, going camping and all the fun stuff and about his personal life, but I did not know anything about the drug life.”

She found out about Perry’s addiction when he told her he wanted to get clean. He disappeared only a couple of days before he was supposed to enter a rehabilitation center.

Through years of information and leads, Nodaway County Sheriff Randy Strong and Kurz said they have found a suspect. However, there isn’t enough evidence to make an arrest, as Perry's remains haven't been found. He believes someone will need to come forward with evidence.

Details of Disappearance

Name/age: Branson Kayne Perry, 20
Missing Since: 04/11/01
Missing from: Skidmore, Missouri
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: 02/24/81
Physical Description: white male, 5'9", 140-155, blonde hair, physically fit
Distinguishing Characteristics: Small faint scar on upper right cheek. Small scar on left knee. Normal teeth; wisdom teeth have been pulled. Right handed. Black belt in Hopkido, lifted weights.
Medical Conditions: Racing heart condition. Allergic to Penicillin. Clothing: Shorts (size 32) and a T-shirt (size medium to large).
Jewelry: Possibly wearing necklaces and leather trinkets or chains with arrowheads on them.
DNA: in CODIS
Investigating Agency: Missouri State Highway Patrol, (816) 387-2345.
Links: http://www.bransonperry.com/tag/branson-perry/.

Sources

Ritzdorf, Quinn. (2022 Aug 14). Officers have suspect, still need evidence in 21-year missing person case.

Published: 4/15/11    Last updated: 7/4/24.

11/09/09: Tyler Walton, 26, Williams Lake, Canada

Tyler Guy Walton, an outgoing 26-year old “filled to the brim with a vital joy of life” has been missing since November 09, 2009.

On the day he disappeared, he made a deposit at the bank, then was seen at a store before heading to a spiritual gathering around 7 p.m. in Williams Lake, British Columbia. It was the last time he was seen.

His left behind his wallet and ID at home, along with his bicycle, vehicle (bought a few days before), and laptop (which he usually carried with him). He also did not take a jacket, toothbrush, clothes or other personal belongings.

While Tyler does have friends all over and loves to travel, he is not the type to leave without telling anyone where he is going. His disappearance is considered very uncharacteristic. Police have conducted extensive interviews with everyone he knows and have checked his financial/medical/phone and travel records.

A helicopter and numerous ground searches of the forested area around Williams Lake yielded no results, and after all this time and numerous inquiries by investigators, there are still no solid leads to explain why he disappeared or where he could be. A friend told the Vancouver Observer, “he just disappeared, like he got plucked off the face of the earth.”

In 2015, Corp. Jason Pole of the Williams Lake RCMP general investigation section told BC Local News that he does not believe that Walton took his own life or intentionally left Williams Lake. Pole told the paper that while Walton was involved with the drug trade, police don't have any direct evidence to suggest his disappearance is related to a drug dispute. Pole also points out that Walton was known to take spontaneous hikes, "and the possibility is there that he’s gone hiking and succumbed to an injury or something out there.”


About Tyler Walton

Friends say that Tyler is "a bright, articulate young man who loves to learn." He treasures books, loves to discuss things at a deeper level than most, and is always trying to improve his mind. Tyler's friends and family also say that he is an affectionate young man, who is always the first to initiate "amazing hugs" to those he cares about, and always the last to let go. "Tyler believed that people were innately good and caring toward one another, " they said. "He shared generously and called a wide variety of people his friends.”

Tyler’s mom, Chantal Desruisseaux, dad, Ken Walton (who passed away of cancer in 2018) and  Tyler’s girlfriend of six years, Leah, have been desperate to find some answers to the tragedy that has turned their lives upside down.

“Any answer at this time would help us,” Leahtold the Williams Lake Tribune. “It would help in the healing process to have an answer. We’re still hoping he’s out there somewhere. Tyler is such an amazing person, he’s just meant to keep going.”

Anyone with information regarding Tyler should contact police in Williams Lake at 250-392-6211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477). You can also contact Everett Lightfoot by phone at 250-395-7736, by cell phone at 250-706-1151, or by e-mail at info@elightfootcoltd.ca.



Case Details
Name/age: Tyler Walton, 26
Last seen: Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Physical Description: Caucasian male, 5’10”, 1451-150 pounds, physically fit and with brown hair, brown eyes. Tyler wears his hair at medium length and sometimes has a full beard.
Investigating Agency: Williams Lake RCMP, 250-392-6211.


Sources
Lamb-Yorski, Monica. (December 3, 2015). RCMP look for new information in Walton disappearance. BC Local News. Retrieved June 7, 2019 from https://www.bclocalnews.com/news/rcmp-look-for-new-information-in-walton-disappearance/



Published August 13, 2010.  Last updated June 7, 2019.

03/13/10: Greg Hart, 23, Providence, RI

On March 13, 2010, after getting a late start, Gregory Hart, 23, drove his Mustang from Dedham, MA, to the apartment of a friend in Providence, RI. There, he met up with three old college buddies--Will, Zach, and Zach's girlfriend--to celebrate his new job. By 10 p.m., the group was heading out to the Red Room Tavern at One Fox Place in Providence.

At 1:21 a.m., Hart spoke on the phone with Will, who was at the bar that night. The two spoke for 8 minutes, but it has not been reported what was said. It was the last time Hart's phone was used.

Friends say that around 1:40 p.m., Greg just got up and left the tavern without saying a word. Nothing unusual appeared to be going on, but Hart left the bar (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com, March 15, 2010).

Friends initially speculated that while they returned to their apartment, Hart may have gone to an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) on Promenade Street. But Hart's brother, JP, later told the Providence Journal that this wasn't likely. While he and his brother had indeed sometimes walked from the Red Room to the IHOP, it had been in the summer. Family members did not believe Greg would have walked to the pancake house in the rain, and there appears to be no indication that he did so. (Providence Journal).

Cell phone records indicate that, at some point, Hart's friend, Zach, tried calling Greg's phone (along with the police and local hospitals) to find out what happened to his friend.

Hart's family remained uneasy; Greg Hart's car was still parked outside the apartment building where he had left it, and his cell phone had not been answered.

By Sunday when he still hadn't returned for the St. Patrick's Day parade, they became "seriously worried" and they filed a missing person's report. (Boston.com.)


The Search for Greg Hart
Initially, police did not look for the missing University of Massachusetts-Amherst student.

When the police failed to search, family and friends of Greg Hart launched their own search effort. More than 50 people came to the aid of the Hart family, helping to look for Hart and/or post fliers around the area.

On Tuesday, March 16 at around 2:45 p.m., a family friend made a grim discovery just three-quarters of a mile from where Hart had last been seen. Hart's body was found washed up against a tree limb in the rain-swollen Woonasqatucket River in Providence, “half in and half out” of the water (ABC6.com). It was recovered by rescue crews from the Providence Fire Department.


Investigation
From the beginning, the Hart family expressed fears that foul play might be involved with Hart's death. Hart was a licensed and experienced scuba diver and very familiar with the water. There had also been reports that some type of disturbance or altercation had occurred at the bar on the night that Greg Hart disappeared.

"When a sudden death happens in an unusual place under unusual circumstances, it’s suspicious."
- Maj. Thomas F. Oates III, Providence Police Department

But an autopsy conducted by the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's office on March 17, indicated that Hart's death was a drowning and did not appear suspicious.

Yet, police said they would continue to investigate and treat the death as suspicious. "When a sudden death happens in an unusual place under unusual circumstances," said "Maj. Thomas F. Oates III, commander of the department’s investigative division, "it’s suspicious." (The Providence Journal, March 20, 2010).

On March 23, the medical examiner announced that Hart had been "highly intoxicated." The blood alcohol level was not released, but John Hart told the Providence Journal that investigators told him that his son's blood-alcohol level was more than .25. This is more than three times the legal limit of .08 for driving in Rhode Island. According to research by the paper, "most with levels between .21 and .29 would be subject to memory blackouts, staggering, double vision, loss of understanding of surroundings, poor judgment, impaired reactions and loss of balance."

Also at that time, police announced that they had found no evidence to suggest Hart had been involved in a fight. However, Hart's family said Hart's body had numerous injuries that suggested he had been in a fight, including: a broken cheekbone, jaw, eye socket, chipped tooth, cuts on his lips and knuckles, injuries to his palm and bruises on both legs in the same location. The family believes he was beaten up, possibly murdered.

Hart's father also said he believes a search should have been launched by the police after they heard about the possible disturbance at the bar.

The medical examiner addressed the family's concerns two days later, stating that any injuries found on Gregory Hart's body were caused after he drowned. His body had been in the fast- flowing Woonasquatucket River for an estimated 2-3 days. The Providence Police Department and the medical examiner maintained that there were no signs of foul play.


Private investigation by Hart family
The Hart family has hired an attorney to investigate the handling of the investigation. Police stand behind their investigation and say it was thorough, but the family has reported that the following areas are of particular concern:

Potential Conflict of Interest
Providence detective, Mark Sacco, who began investigating the case one day before Hart was found owns the property that the Red Room bar sits on. The bar itself is owned by Rebecca Caroll, the wife of Providence police detective, Shawn Carroll. The family of Greg Hart feels that this is a conflict of interest. In addition, there are no records of potential witnesses at the bar (e.g., bouncers, bartenders) ever having been interviewed by the police (ABC6.com).

Possible altercation at the bar
A police report, according to ABC6, says a disturbance of some kind (it is not known when or what type), occurred shortly before Greg disappeared. Hart's body had also suffered the type of injuries that may be indicative of a fight (broken facial bones, chipped tooth, cuts on lips and knuckles, bruising on palm and legs.) There were also two bruises in the same place on each leg, possibly caused by restraining Greg Hart.

Inconsistencies with police reports
The initial police incident report from March 14, states that police found Hart's cell phone and a house key in the bar’s parking lot. The report also states that police called his cellphone at that time and that it rang several times before going to voicemail. A police report two days later said that Hart's phone was found in the water along with Hart's partially submerged body and his driver's license.

Hart's Shattered iPhone
The police returned Hart's iPhone to the family in approximately 5 pieces. Officers told the family that even State Police experts were unable to retrieve any information from it because it had been in the water. However, technicians at AT&T told the Hart family that it had been taken apart in such a way that no information could be retrieved (ABC6.com).

Damaged indicator on iPhone

"This [phone] definitely wasn't in the water, definitely, 100 percent, this was not in the water."
- Alfred Demirjian, data recovery expert

The Hart family was able to take the phone to data recovery experts at TechFusion. The company found that the phone could not possibly have been in contact with water, as stated in the police report. The style of the Apple iPhone that Hart had is equipped with tiny indicators deep in the phone that signal whether the phone had been submerged in water or a liquid. According to Alexander Gessen, a data recovery expert at the company, Apple has installed these indicators in order to help determine whether the phone has been submerged or come into contact with a liquid that might void the warranty. Evidence indicates that the indicator on Hart's phone, something very difficult to remove, had been intentionally scratched off.

Alfred Demirjian, a data recovery expert at the company said, "This definitely wasn't in the water, definitely, 100 percent, this was not in the water." (Boston.com, 11/1/10).

Data Recovery from Cell Phone
TechFusion was also able to rebuild Hart's phone and compare the text messages and phone logs to AT&T's cell phone logs to authenticate them. The data included a log of the last 100 calls and the contents of the final 599 text messages, which indicate that the iPhone was not in the water. The family has declined to release the contents of the recovered data for fear of compromising any criminal case that may come from it.

Length of Time in Water
A white shirt returned to the family seems to be more river-stained than the shirt that Hart was wearing over it. The family has also said that the body itself was not as waterlogged as it should have been after 48 hours in the water.

About Greg Hart
Providence Police Lt. George Stamatakos described Hart as “a nice kid with a great family." Gregory Hart had just moved to Dedham, Massachusetts. He was a cum laude graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where he had studied economics and tutored students, and had been accepted into an officer's program to be a Navy fighter pilot. Relatives attributed his success to his hard work in school after receiving below-average grades his freshman year in college. He had just landed a new job at Meditech in Westwood, MA--a job that would give him some real money for the first time, according to ABC6.com--and he was scheduled to begin work on Monday, March 15. He was not typically a late-night partier.

The news has devasted his family. "He's my heart. I can't even function. Nothing's important anymore," said his mother, Marianne Hart, told the Providence Journal. Hart’s father said his son was his “best friend.” Relatives say he was also kind and generous, spending much of last year caring for his mother during breast cancer treatment.

Greg Hart will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Facts:
Name/age: Greg Hart, 23
College: University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Last seen: 03/13/10, Red Room Tavern, One Fox Place, Providence, RI
Recovered: 03/16/10, Woonasqatucket River, Providence, RI
Residence: Dedham, MA
Physical Description: 5’8,” brown hair. He was last seen downtown Sunday morning wearing a grey leather biker jacket, a green hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black shoes.