Posted: 6/3/2010 9:11:12 PM EDT
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Missing NYC man found after car leaves road
By Sarah Bradshaw and Emily Stewart •Gannett • June 3, 2010, 10:25 pm –– A missing New Yorker who was last seen at a party in East Fishkill on Sunday was found Thursday in a wooden area near Taghkanic Lake State Park, begging for water, state police said. Thomas Wopat-Moreau, 22, was discovered lying on the ground next to his vehicle in a secluded area off Taconic State Parkway in the Town of Gallatin, Columbia County. He was airlifted to Albany Medical Center. "You couldn't have hid a car better if you tried," state police Lt. James Murphy said. As to his condition, Murphy said he was "conscious" and "thirsty." "He was begging for water," he said. Greg McGarry, vice president of communications at the hospital, said Wopat-Moreau was under evaluation in the emergency room Thursday. Wopat-Moreau was traveling northbound early Sunday morning when his car left the parkway on the east shoulder and launched more than 400 feet off the road. What caused him to drive off the road was under investigation. Police said the discovery was "by luck" because none of the typical signs of an accident were left behind such as tire marks, broken branches, etc. About 2 p.m., Trooper Ron Cardis of the Millbrook police barracks saw some rubber stuck to a post along the parkway. He got out of his police car and walked into the woods, finding Wopat-Moreau's 2005 BMW silver wagon down an embankment, upside down and "completely demolished," Murphy said. Police believed he crawled out of the window of the BMW. They don't believe he had food or water. Friends and family members expressed relief at the news on the MISSING in NY: Thomas Wopat-Moreau Facebook group page. Police had been searching for Wopat-Moreau after his mother reported him missing Sunday. They put out a missing person's press release Wednesday asking for tips. There were at least 20 police officers involved in the search. They used cell towers and information before Wopat-Moreau's cell phone died to narrow their search Wopat-Moreau's friends had also organized search parties and were combing the routes he was expected to have taken Sunday morning. Jessica Smith, 22, of Carmel, who was coordinating the civilian search effort said Wopat-Moreau left the Memorial Day weekend party around 3 or 4 a.m. He was supposed to spend the night there, but left suddenly after an argument with someone, she said. Smith said she's not really sure what the argument was about. She and her boyfriend, David Tompkins, were sleeping and he came into the room, flustered, and grabbed his keys and wallet. "We were sleeping, we ran out and tried to stop him. By the time my boyfriend got out to try to stop him, he was gone," she said. Wopat-Moreau's cell phone was dead and no one could reach him. William Hatcher, 24, who was with his friend Saturday night but left the party early, said Wopat-Moreau had planned to sleep over at the party, then drive to Columbia County in the morning to visit his mother and return her car. But Wopat-Moreau left sometime early Sunday morning and went missing. Wopat-Moreau lives in New York City on the Lower East Side. He grew up in Kent, then moved to Copake, Columbia County, with his mother sometime during high school. He was supposed to start a new job Tuesday at Barclays financial services, but never arrived, Hatcher said. Hatcher said his friend was excited about starting the new job. "When I saw him on Saturday, that was all he would talk about," Hatcher said. http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100603/NEWS01/6030399/1126/news/Missing+NYC+man+found+after+car+leaves+road |
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Quoted:
If I was a betting man, I'd bet that alcohol was a factor. You might be correct, or not. What should have happened differently if alcohol was a factor? Or a suspected factor? Or a possible factor? Does it matter if it is suspected aforehand, or only if it is confirmed after finding the subject/suspect? Just asking... FWIW, I don't doubt that it was a factor. I'm just asking what you think should have happened differently as a result. |
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Quoted: Quoted: If I was a betting man, I'd bet that alcohol was a factor. You might be correct, or not. What should have happened differently if alcohol was a factor? Or a suspected factor? Or a possible factor? Does it matter if it is suspected aforehand, or only if it is confirmed after finding the subject/suspect? Just asking... FWIW, I don't doubt that it was a factor. I'm just asking what you think should have happened differently as a result. I'm guessing that if sober, there would have been no argument. No argument, no high-tailing it out of Dodge at zero-dark-thirty in Mom's BMW. I'd also bet that if the man happened to be drunk, he probably drove like a guido (x 10). Drive the Taconic Parkway and you'll see what I mean. Bottom line: If he was sober, none of this would have happened. Of course this is all me exercising my psychic abilities.  |