The Disappearance of Ray Gricar

The physical evidence recovered in Ray's case is sparse and, in some respects, contradictory. His car was found locked near two bridges over the Susquehanna River, with no signs of struggle and no indication of where he went after parking. Cigarette ash on the passenger seat is unexplained. Sniffer dogs reportedly indicated he may have gotten into another vehicle after leaving his own. Multiple witnesses reported seeing a man matching his description in the Lewisburg area that afternoon, including near the antiques mall he frequented, but none of the sightings were definitively confirmed.

The laptop and hard drive recovered from the Susquehanna River in the months that followed raised more questions than they answered. The hard drive had been deliberately removed from the laptop before both were placed in the water. Analysis by the FBI, the Secret Service, and Kroll Ontrack confirmed the hard drive was unreadable. Separately, searches on the home computer Ray shared with Fornicola — including "how to wreck a hard drive" and "water damage to a notebook computer" — were revealed by investigators in 2009. The source of those searches, whether Ray himself or someone else who used the machine, has never been confirmed.

Investigators explored several possible connections to Ray's professional history. He had recently overseen a heroin trafficking prosecution, and those individuals were investigated for any link to his disappearance. No connection was found. Ray had also investigated longtime Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in 1998 following a complaint from the mother of an 11-year-old boy, and declined to press charges. Sandusky was later arrested in 2011 and convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse. Investigators and Centre County officials have consistently stated they do not believe there is any connection between the 1998 Sandusky decision and Ray's 2005 disappearance. No evidence has emerged to establish one.

Three theories have persisted throughout the investigation: that Ray died by suicide, consistent with the river location and the circumstances surrounding his older brother Roy's 1996 death; that he deliberately engineered his own disappearance to begin a new life; or that he was the victim of foul play. No body has been recovered. No suspect has ever been identified. The case remains open.