OLD FORGE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Lackawanna County businessman has been missing for six years.
On Tuesday, authorities say his mysterious disappearance was the focus of an extensive search.
58-year-old Robert Baron was last seen alive in Old Forge on January 25, 2017.
As investigators search for answers, Eyewitness News is taking a look back at the case.
“We are not going through another year of this. I have a lot of confidence that I feel this is going to happen in 2023, see closure and justice,” said Robert Baron’s wife Maria Baron, in January.
Eyewitness News spoke with Maria and his daughter, Brittney back in January. They said the last six years have been a nightmare trying to figure out what happened to Robert, their loving husband, and father.
“Everybody knows who did it and I feel they think they got away with it and they walk around freely, people see them around the town and it’s frustrating but I will say I’m very confident that this is the last year this is going to go without answers or an arrest is made,” said Robert Baron’s Daughter, Brittany Baron, in January.
Robert was last seen in Old Forge on the night of January 25, 2017.
Detectives found blood and a tooth inside his restaurant, Ghigiarelli’s Pizza.
His car was found several days later, about a mile away from the restaurant, with blood in the interior of the car and mud on the tires.
On Tuesday, state and local authorities searched an area known as Connell’s Patch in Old Forge. It includes abandoned coal mines and woods near Pagnotti Park.
Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell says new advancements in forensic technology are being used to investigate.
“Well something is going on again after all these years now, all of a sudden. They searched this in the beginning, they didn’t find nothing. Now all of a sudden they’re coming back to search, they had helicopters and everything else,” a neighbor said.
The District Attorney did not yet say if anything was located during the search and is asking anyone with information on the disappearance of Robert Baron to come forward.
