Disappearance of 2 Salesmen in Torrance Baffles Authorities

John Kovach has made phone calls, sent faxes and flown across the country from his New Jersey home to help find his 26-year-old son, one of two Redondo Beach men who disappeared mysteriously last week from a Torrance cellular phone store.

“We want to tell him that we love him and we’re praying dearly for him and we want to get to the bottom of this,” said Kovach, 49, who flew to Los Angeles on Saturday to help search for his son.

The case has authorities baffled. Peter Kovach, 26, and Ted Gould, 29, were last seen Wednesday evening working at Galleria Telecom, a small phone and beeper shop along busy Hawthorne Boulevard. The two disappeared that night.

A friend of Gould told authorities he stopped by the shop about 8 p.m. and found the door unlocked, the lights on but both men missing. No cash, merchandise or furniture were found missing from the shop, said Torrance Police Lt. Wally Murker.

Shop owner R.J. Panah believes the two were probably kidnaped. A dummy security camera that normally points toward the front door was facing the back of the office when he arrived. He said the men were model employees who worked weekdays and usually closed the store about 8 p.m.

Panah drove by the shop and noticed the lights still on at 11 p.m. Wednesday, so he stopped in. Panah said he found Gould’s friend, Paul Poduska, standing in the doorway waiting for the men. The missing men’s car keys were on their desks, and their cars were parked nearby.

“Ted’s prescription sunglasses were still on the table,” he said. “He never goes anywhere without them.”

Also, a $1,200 cellular phone owned by Kovach was still in the shop. Kovach never left without the phone, he said.

Authorities consider the two men “missing under unusual circumstances,” Murker said. Police contacted the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to aid in the investigation, he said.

“We’ve mobilized authorities on both coasts,” John Kovach said. “We’re using all the techniques we can.”

Kovach is 6 feet and 215 pounds. Gould is 5 feet, 8 inches and 160 pounds. Both are white.

Anyone with information is asked to call Torrance detectives at (310) 618-5571 during business hours, or (310) 618-5737 after hours.