Where's The District Attorney?

It's not too often that our little area of central Pennsylvania makes the national news. Unless, of course, Penn State has a great football season. So it's been awhile. And now, we're not stopping the presses at the New York Times topping the news on Fox or CNN. But this story is showing up here and there across the country, and it's the main topic of conversation 'round these parts.

Understandable, too. See, the Centre County District Attorney vanished on Friday. Poof. Read the story here, if you'd like. Ray Gricar's been the DA since 1985, and is known as a straight-shooter, serious fellow, not given to flamboyance. Although he's a prosecutor, those who know about these things really can't think of a single case he's prosecuted where someone would be likely to come gunning for him. No mental or medical problems as far as anyone knows, likewise no gambling debts.

On Friday morning about 11:30, Ray called his office, in which his girlfriend works as a clerk. He told her he was taking the day off, and was driving along Route 192 in Brush Valley, a picturesque rural area. That's fairly typical -- he often takes long drives in the country as a stress-buster. But that's the last anyone's heard of him.

On Saturday, they found his Mini-Cooper near the Susquehanna River in Lewisburg (that's about 45 miles from Bellefonte, the county seat of Centre County) and the home of Bucknell University. No sign of the DA. No evidence of foul play, either. He's just gone.

One odd note: About ten years ago, his brother, Roy Gricar, vanished without a trace. His body turned up in a river a couple of weeks later. His death was ruled a suicide by drowning.

I have a feeling that this will become one of those mysteries which never gets solved. That in April of 2015, the Centre Daily Times will do an article about how District Attorney Ray Gricar vanished without a trace ten years ago, and how the trail went cold long ago. Hope not. But that's what I think.