OLD FORGE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The mysterious disappearance of a Lackawanna County businessman Robert Baron is still unsolved.
Baron’s family is hoping a surveillance video taken the night he went missing can provide long-awaited answers in the case.
This week will mark five years since Robert Baron, of Old Forge, went missing. As police investigate, Baron’s family says they want justice.
The sign In front of Ghigiarelli’s Restaurant on South Main Street in Old Forge, really says it all. Five years, no answers.
This video was released to Eyewitness News, showing two men walking near South Main Street in Old Forge near Ghigiarelli’s Restaurant, shortly after midnight on January 26, 2017, the night Robert Baron went missing.
One man is wearing shorts and we are blurring out his face since he has not been charged in connection with Baron’s disappearance.
In another video clip, another man who is in the shadows appears to be pulling a suitcase.
“There are two men outside the night of the tragedy. Which tells me he ripped off his warm clothes, got rid of them to take the evidence away. There’s the other suspect is wheeling a suitcase on Main Street in the dead of winter on the night of the tragedy,” explained Nicole Baron, Robert Baron’s daughter.
Nicole Baron says a suitcase was missing from an apartment above Ghigiarelli’s.
Eyewitness News asked Nicole Baron about the irony between the two individuals dragging a suitcase, and a suitcase missing from her father’s building.
“Yeah, absolutely. The suitcase is not clear at all in the video but I’m hoping another business may have a video that’s more clear,” Nicole Baron replied.
Robert Baron was last seen alive on the night of January 25, 2017, when he dropped his son off in town. Investigators found blood inside his restaurant and his car was found several days later about a mile away from the restaurant. Blood was also found inside the vehicle and there was mud on the tires.
The family first saw the video in 2019 and first made it public last year. Family members question why it did not help lead to an arrest in the case.
“Whether they were involved or not it raises suspicion. So, they’re definitely worth looking at and investigating,” said Nicole Baron.
“The videos are part of our investigation but I cannot comment specifically about who was interviewed or the details of the investigation,” said Mark Powell, Lackawanna County District Attorney.
The Baron family says they just want answers.
“It’s nonstop torture to our family and you know we are just in dire need of answers and we’re hoping that someone will come forward,” said Nicole Baron.
Baron tells Eyewitness News her family was told by investigators several years ago that they know who the men are in the video.
