Hi there, all of you crime kittehs. Today I stumbled across a case that has been unsolved for over 24 purring years.
Back on January 16, 1987 a young tomcat, Joseph David Helt disappeared without so much as leaving behind a ball of fur. Joe and some other kittehs had been at a party located at the Mount Cathalia Ski Lodge in Cragsmoor, just five miles outside of Ellenville, New York on the night of his disappearance. Even thought the ski lodge had partially burned out in the early 80’s, it was the spot where the cool cats would go hang out and party.
While kicking his paws up, Joe spent time at the party with his best friend Armando and several other cats. At some point Joe asked Armando for a ride home. But Armando had borrowed another cat’s pick-up and didn’t have enough room because several others were already promised a ride home by him.
When Armando said he didn’t have the room, Joseph then took a ride from 21 year old cat named John LaForge, who was older than the rest but still chose to hang out with the younger kittehs.
The other cats that also took a ride with John were Kelly Diaz who at the time was 16 years old and Wade Marks who was just 17 years old.
The three cats meowed that when they left the party, they rode down Sam’s Point road in John’s four wheel drive Subaru. They state that they got the vehicle stuck in a ditch later on due to icy road conditions and they couldn’t get it out after the four boys tried several times to get the car unstuck. Then they purred that Joe became upset and got out of the vehicle to begin walking back to Ellenville for some help which was just over five miles away. That was supposedly around 3:00 to 3:30 am in the morning hours.
Next, the three feral cats meowed that twenty minutes later Diaz and Marks also left the vehicle to walk just over two miles back to Wade Marks home which was located near the original party site, the mount Cathalia Ski Lodge. And then about ten minutes after those two left the vehicle, LaForge supposedly also left it and walked over two miles back to his home which was in Cragsmoor as well…
The following day when Joseph failed to prance in for his scheduled shift at the Napanoch Auction Barn, his boss Vic called Joe’s mother. And when she couldn’t locate him anywhere, she called the Ellenville police who searched the area where Joseph supposedly went missing. A few hours later, several other rescue workers joined in the search. They clawed their ways up the mountain, but then nasty weather put a stop to their searching through a major snow storm after six furry back breaking days. They said when they called off the search that there was no way a tomcat like Joseph could survive the mountain at temperatures that fell below zero and never hissed its way out of the twenties.
Of course they brought in the canines to help search, but those barking hounds never picked up on his scent, only the scent of the cats that were searching for him. However, the search teams did go back up the mountain during the spring time after the snow had melted and the ground had thawed. Still there weren’t any traces of Joseph to be found. Not a fur-ball, a tennis shoe, a t-shirt or any other hide covering article of clothing what so ever… not even a broken cat claw!!!
Now then, let me ruffle your fur just a bit more. There have been several rumors scratching around about Joseph Helt’s disappearance and some even hiss that those three tomcat acquaintances of his had something to do with it… I must purr that none of this makes any sense at all…
Why would Joe walk over five miles for help versus walking back just over two miles to the party? Or even the two miles to either one of the tomcat’s homes which would have been closer to them? What was the reasoning that they decided to go up Sam’s Point road instead of taking Joe home as it was stated that he requested? More importantly… why would he leave by himself? And why would those cats let him leave by himself on a cold icy January night in the middle of nowhere? Just what was he so upset about???
The whole case has me gnawing at my claws. Why didn’t the police report Joe’s case to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children before October 2010 twenty three years later? Why not inform the New York State Police of his disappearance so that they could put him on the list of missing persons and/or their website before April 22, 2011?
For twenty three years Joseph Helt had never been reported to any Governmental agency as missing… nor any media outlets ,for that matter… not anyone anywhere so that his family could get some comfort knowing that someone out there cared for and was looking for their missing son. The police have made several mishaps when it comes to bringing attention to Joseph Helt’s case in hopes of locating him by the use of other’s knowledge. There wasn’t so much as even a reward offered in this case to find him…
Since Joe’s disappearance, both of his parents have given up their nine lives to cancer. But his family member contact, Aunt Beth Churchill isn’t even allowed to lay her cat eyes on the police report taken back in 1987, not anything at all that has to do with his case!
So I ask all of you kittehs, “Just whom are the police protecting?”
In a taped interview with the NBC News, a New York State Police spokesperson stated that the three stray cats who were the last ones to see Joseph before his mysterious disappearance… were not now and not ever considered suspects or persons of interest in his disappearance!!!
How is that even possible you meow?
Although Joseph Helt’s parents have since passed due to cancer just months apart in 2007 and 2008, they left behind a litter of family and friends who still care and want to know just what happened.
So if any of you crime fighting kittehs out there have something to purr off your chest about the disappearance of Joseph David Helt, please contact me, Sgt. Scratchaway here… or by clicking on the link. Plus you can also make an anonymous tip at 1-800-490-2267.
Signed,
Sgt. Scratchaway
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