1. Case: The disappearance
of Ray Gricar
By: Cornelius, Maddie, Nadja, and Nicholas
Questions to think about as you analyze the sources:
1. What do you think happened to Ray Gricar?
2. If he is dead, why was he killed?
Source 1 Source 7Sources 5/6Source 2 Source 4Source 3 LS
Our final analysis
Other’s opinions

2. Source #1
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Questions on Sandusky Are Wrapped in a 2005 Mystery, Ken
Beloson, November 2011
One of the questions surrounding the sex-abuse case against Jerry
Sandusky is why a former district attorney chose not to prosecute
the then-Penn State assistant coach in 1998 after reports surfaced
that he had inappropriate interactions with a boy. The answer is
unknowable because of an unsolved mystery: What happened to Ray
Gricar, the Centre County, Pa., district attorney?
Gricar went missing in April 2005. The murky circumstances
surrounding his disappearance — an abandoned car, a laptop recovered
months later in a river without a hard drive, his body was never
found — have spawned Web sites, television programs and conspiracy
theories. More than six years later, the police still receive tips
and reports of sightings. The police in central Pennsylvania
continue to investigate even though Gricar’s
daughter, Lara, successfully petitioned in July to have her father
declared legally dead so the family could find some closure and
begin dividing his estate.

3. Source #2
Excerpt from Jim Fisher True Crime blog post, Jim Fisher (former
FBI agent and crime investigator), June 2012
Gricar's red mini cooper was found parked near an antique mall
in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 55 miles east of Bellefonte. The
interior of the vehicle reeked of cigarettes. Gricar, who didn't
smoke, didn't like that smell. The car had been locked, and
Gricar's cellphone was inside. According to a Lewisburg shop
owner whose antique store Gricar had patronized in the past, the
district attorney, on the day he left Bellefonte, was walking in
the mall with a tall, dark-haired woman in her late 30s or early
40s. Investigators made no effort to identify and question this
woman. Because this information wasn't published until 13 months
after Gricar's disappearance, the police received no help from
the public in identifying this woman. By the time the story came
out, the case had grown cold.
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4. Source(s) #3
Patriot-news newspaper, article by Sarah
Ganim, 16th April 2012
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Luke O’Brien, historical
blogger. 13th April 2012.
Three months
later, fishermen
discovered Gricar's
government-issued laptop
in the Susquehanna River.
Police later found his
hard drive on a
riverbank, damaged so
badly that no data could
be recovered. They also
learned about the Internet
searches run on the DA's
home computer before his
disappearance: "how to
wreck a hard drive," "how
to fry a hard drive," and
"water damage to a
notebook computer."

5. Source #4
The Federal Bureau
of
Investigation, Want
ed by the
FBI, Kidnappings
and missing persons
Although having
been declared dead
by a Centre County
judge
(pennlive.com), Gricar
is still listed as
a missing person on
the FBI website.
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6. Sources #5/6
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Criminal researcher’s report, Jim Fisher 27th June 2012
Ray Gricar's brother, Roy J. Gricar, committed suicide in May 1996 by
jumping off a bridge over the Great Miami River near West Chester, Ohio. If
Ray had jumped from a bridge across the Susquehanna River, what are the
chances his body would have been found? Some believe the odds are great that
his body would have been recovered. Others disagree. To have an opinion on
this question, one would have to know the ins and outs of the Susquehanna
River.
Investigative essay from ‚Yard Bird‛ book by Bill Keisling, 2005.
Shortly before his disappearance, Gricar's photograph was posted on the
internet in a press release trumpeting the heroin arrests, and the grand
jury investigation.
The March 31, 2005 press release from the office of State Attorney General
Tom Corbett relates, "'This is the largest heroin operation that we have
ever seen in Centre County,' Corbett said, 'feeding a drug trade that
stretched throughout the region and allegedly resulted in at least one
deadly overdose.'"

7. Source #7
Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, 11th November 2011
Ray Gricar investigated allegations that Sandusky had
inappropriate contact with an 11-year-old boy in a school
locker room in 1998.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda
Kelly indicated Sandusky on 40 counts of sex crimes
against young boys. According to the grand jury
report, there are eight victims who were targeted between
1994 and 2009.
Since Sandusky's arrest, Penn State has been the subject
of widespread criticism because of an alleged cover-up of
the former coach's alleged illegal activities.
Recently, that criticism has also fallen on Ray
Gricar, the man who opted not to prosecute Sandusky in
1998.
The former DA, however, is not around to defend his
actions. Ray Gricar has been missing since 2005, when he
vanished under mysterious circumstances.
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8. Wherever he may be
Rest he in peace,
Whether taken by will
Or physical threat,
Evidence will not
Resolve his case,
The Mystery remains
A Mystery
And has caused many worries
Wherever he may be
Rest he in peace,
For his life,
As any other
Was valued and cherished,
And as many previous
His case remains
Unresolved
-Nadja Flechner
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Source #8 – Literary Source

9. Our take on what happened
to Gricar
In conclusion, we think that the daughter
was the one that committed this heinous
crime. The reason why we are questioning
the daughter’s motives are because in 2011
she petitioned to have her father
pronounced legally dead, so that she could
split up the estate and the will and that
the family could get a sort of “closure”.
She would also get to manage the family
estate, meaning that she would be the main
beneficiary of her adopted father’s death.
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10. Other Theories
(not professional, as no ‘experts’ seem to have given
their opinions/theories on what actually happened)
NCAAF Blog Post, metsfan710, November 2011
• Theory 1: Gricar’s disappearance had nothing to do with
Sandusky and is just a coincidence
• Theory 2: Recent reports indicate that the Sandusky
scandal goes further than Sandusky himself.
Allegedly, the Second Mile, Sandusky’s
foundation, doubled as sex trafficking for rich donors.
Gricar was very rich and somehow involved.
• Theory 3: Gricar did not have enough evidence in 1998 and
continued to build a case. By 2005, he had a solid case
built and Penn State caught wind that he would soon
prosecute Sandusky, casting a dark cloud over Penn
State’s prestigious program. Penn State either paid
Gricar to disappear, or used one of the many “means” that
inhabits the Penn State area to take care of Gricar.
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