Missing Prosecutor’s Laptop Found in River

A missing prosecutor’s laptop computer was pulled from a river near the spot where his car was abandoned more than three months ago, police said Monday.

Two fishermen scooped up the computer in their net Saturday in the Susquehanna River, Bellefonte police said. The fishermen turned it over to state police, who determined it belonged to Centre County Dist. Atty. Ray F. Gricar.

The computer had a Centre County government tag, but its hard drive was gone, making it unlikely that it would provide police any clues to Gricar’s whereabouts, Bellefonte Police Chief Duane Dixon said.

“It’s another piece to the puzzle, but it doesn’t lead us anywhere,” Dixon said.

Gricar, 59, vanished April 15 after going for a drive on his day off. His car was found the next day in Lewisburg, about 45 miles from his Bellefonte home in central Pennsylvania. The computer was found under a bridge a couple blocks from the parking lot where his vehicle was found.

Authorities had previously searched the river several times. Dive teams searched it again Saturday and Sunday but found nothing else, Dixon said. It was not clear how long the computer had been in the river, he said.

Dixon said the water where the laptop was found was about 4 1/2 to 5 feet deep, which was shallower than when divers searched the river after Gricar disappeared.

Police have said they have few credible leads and have not ruled out foul play.

Gricar was supposed to retire in December as Centre County’s top prosecutor. So far, the disappearance doesn’t appear to be connected to any of his cases, authorities have said.