Investigators are taking their search for four young Pennsylvania men to a vast rural farmland they believe has evidence connected to the disturbing disappearances.
According to NBC Philadelphia, police spent much of Monday searching farmland in Solebury Township, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. They also searched a property in nearby Bensalem. Both are owned by the family of a man taken into custody Monday on unrelated charges.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police are searching for four young men who went missing under suspicious circumstances in the last week: Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County; Tom Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township; Dean Finocchiario, 19, of Middletown Township; and Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township (pictured left to right).
Two of the men knew each other and worked together. Sturgis’s father Mark Potash reportedly told police that his son left home Friday evening to meet Meo in Doylestown. Neither young men have been seen since.
Potash told Philly.com that both of their cars have been found; one in a garage at the Solebury Township property. Investigators declined to confirm that the cars had been located.
Finocchiario was also last seen on Friday, getting into his car. Patrick was the first to disappear, and has not been heard from or reported to work since Wednesday.
Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said on Monday that investigators were working to determine if all four men are connected.
He also said that police strongly suspect foul play.
“We’ve been treating this from the outset as a criminal investigation, and nothing has deterred that to this point,” Weintraub told NBC 10.
The same day, authorities arrested Cosmo DiNardo, 20, on gun charges. He is believed to be connected to the disappearances but police have not named him a suspect.
DiNardo’s family owns the land and property that investigators have been searching, following up on what police described as “incredibly hot” leads.
“We’ve dedicated a ton of investigative resources [at the Solebury Township location],” Weintraub told NBC Philadelphia.
Investigators are expected to resume the search on Tuesday morning, and have scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. to deliver updates on the investigation.
Feature photo: Police handout
