I'm doing @wbalradio live reports w/ @BryanNehman@WBALNewsNow from @LoyolaMaryland where a prayer service will be held for missing student
Posted on 07/12/17
| News Source: WBAL
One of the four missing men in Pennsylvania is a student at Loyola University Maryland, the 11 News I-Team has learned.
A massive search continues Tuesday for four missing men ranging in age from 19 to 22 who are thought to be victims of foul play.
Numerous law enforcement agencies were taking part in the third day of the search of farmland in Solebury Township, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia.
The missing are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick.
Patrick disappeared on Wednesday, the other three on Friday.
Loyola University Maryland released a statement to students about Patrick's disappearance, saying counseling services are available at the school. A prayer service for Patrick is scheduled for noon on Wednesday at the Alumni Memorial Chapel.
I'm doing @wbalradio live reports w/ @BryanNehman@WBALNewsNow from @LoyolaMaryland where a prayer service will be held for missing student
In a letter sent to the Loyola community, Donelda Cook, the vice president of student development wrote, "Please join me in praying for the safe return of Jimi Patrick, '20. Law enforcement officials are currently searching for him and three other young men. Jimi's family has asked for our continued prayers during this time."
District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said bail was set at $1 million Monday for Cosmo DiNardo, whose family owns the farmland and another property that was searched, because he was considered a flight risk. But Weintraub did not call him a suspect and cautioned there is often a "chasm" between being called a "person of interest" in an investigation and being charged with a crime.
DiNardo, 20, is accused of illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition in February. A court affidavit said he had suffered from mental illness and had been involuntarily committed to an institution for inpatient care. It did not say when the commitment had occurred. The charge had been dismissed by a judge but was refiled.
A busload of police cadets also took part in the third day of the search of farmland in Solebury Township, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Philadelphia.
Aerial TV footage on Tuesday showed law enforcement officers crowded around a deep trench - a backhoe parked next to it - as officers used shovels to dig deeper and passed up buckets of dirt that were then screened with sifters.
"We want to be careful not to miss the tiniest piece of evidence," Weintraub said at an earlier briefing.
Police have received "a ton of leads" and are making progress, but the entire 90-acre (0.14-square-mile) property is of interest to investigators, Weintraub said. He said investigators were also working across the county.
The farm property is owned by DiNardo's parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo. Neither the DiNardos nor their son's lawyer could be reached for comment.
Peter Dragani, a Bensalem real estate agent who said he coached Cosmo DiNardo in a youth football league and has stayed in touch with the family over the years, described the jailed young man as a "model citizen."
"He comes from a good family, a strong, very strict family," he told The Associated Press. "I never met anybody that didn't like him."
Asked if the four missing men could still be alive, Weintraub said, "I think it's very important to hang on to hope."
The FBI, state police and at least five local law enforcement agencies were also taking part in the search.