NY NY - Michael Taus, 24, West Islip, 18 June 2010

That's so very sad. Why couldn't he tell? Interesting. Isn't is funny how we all say things to our kids to protect them, but while your saying it you don't think it will really happen to you or your family? It happens everyday. What a sick world we live in.

Kenon said:

That's so very sad. Why couldn't he tell? Interesting. Isn't is funny how we all say things to our kids to protect them, but while your saying it you don't think it will really happen to you or your family? It happens everyday. What a sick world we live in.

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Maybe he couldn't tell him because she works for an escort service???

His poor family.

Yes it is a sick sick world. Our children seem to just disappear into thin air.

trigger said:

Sorry about news12..

His father said be careful you never know who you are going to meet over the internet. His father asked about the girl and his son said...Dad I can't tell you.

There is a girl posted here who is also missing. Was at the Holiday Inn in Hauppague which is so close to his home in West Islip. Her name is Megan Waterman who is involved in a escort service. Hmmmm. Even though her BF said she was last seen on June 6.. I am really wondering about these two cases are connected.

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Thanks for this info!!
Regarding the two cases being connected.....I think Megan was killed by her boyfriend and I think there is no connection to Michael. While I would normally say that the boyfriend could have been jealous and could have over reacted....this appears to be a case of a boyfriend 'pimping out' his girlfriend, not a legitimate boyfriend. See the comments section....too detailed and specific to not be true, IMHO: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20008173-504083.html

krista said:

Thanks for this info!!
Regarding the two cases being connected.....I think Megan was killed by her boyfriend and I think there is no connection to Michael. While I would normally say that the boyfriend could have been jealous and could have over reacted....this appears to be a case of a boyfriend 'pimping out' his girlfriend, not a legitimate boyfriend. See the comments section....too detailed and specific to not be true, IMHO: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20008173-504083.html

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OK I'll check the link out.

Even though we disagree I value your opinion....

Any updates on Michael? I can't find any.

Bumping for Michael - it's been almost a month since he disappeared.
I can't find anything new on Michael. This seems very strange to me.
Can anybody find any updates? I went to the fb set up for him after he disappeared but nothing new.
The last wall post was someone else asking if there was anything new - like on August 8th, I think - and no answer. So what's up?

This case just doesn't seem to be getting the attention it should. Missing males usually don't.

It is a shame he is not getting publicity. You are right RubyRed, men don't.

The fact that he would not divulge any information to his father as to who he was going to meet that night sounds sketchy....

Anyone have any theories on what they think happened to this guy?

Well RubyRed,
I wonder if he has been found and/or left on his own for whatever reason. The reason I'm so confused about this is that there has not been an answer to a question on the find Michael Taus facebook page since August 8th and I cannot find any updates anywhere. Not to say there isn't any, I just can find them - LOL
It would be nice to know if this is a closed case and if not, any updates. Hard to help when you don't know if you should be looking! KWIM?

Michael is 25 yrs old, just started dating online.
Did he have any other dates?
When his dad asked about the date, he replied he could not tell him.
Could not.
That raises a red flag.

How many dating online sites was he on?

LE must have seized his computer, checked it over, found isp addresses.
Who was the last email from?
Did they agree to meet at a certain place?

Michael takes his dog and his dog's water/food dishes.
So, I would assume his new online friend said they liked dogs and
that the date was to be longer than just lunch.
Again, it seems this new friend would be on the computer database or
on the phone calls.

So, did Michael meet his date?
And coming back, something happened to him?

Or did he never make it to the date?

Car found six days later, engine running,
makes me think someone wanted it stolen.
And either that person walked home from that spot
or someone followed in another car.

If someone harmed Michael, they would have to get past his dog.
Any information from vets?

West Islip, NY is a city of about 30,000.
Suffolk County is the police agency in charge of this case.
I am going to call them for an update.
Will post info.

No updates? Terrible. I wonder if something happened and it made Michael look bad, and his family does not want the public to know?

This is so sad, no updates?

I talked with Suffolk Cty Sheriff Dept detective this morning.
He states that no information about any aspect of this case will be released to the
public at this time.
He did confirm that Michael Taus is still missing.
He says they have a number of leads.
He also said there could have been a number of reasons the car was found running, but they (sherrif's dept.) had satisfied themselves with the reason why. That reason will not be given out to the public at this time.

I mentioned that I had read about dog's water bowl and food dish being gone.
The detective's reply was that I shouldn't believe everything I read.
I asked if the dog's bowl's were gone, but he said he would not answer that directly.
He did add that newspapers print the wrong information sometimes.

When I asked about Michael leaving to go on this internet date, the detective said, 'which internet date?'
But again, he stated no details or updates will be released at this time.
'It is an open investigation.'

I asked if the police deptartment knew or had a good idea if Michael was living or deceased. He answered that they are looking at both scenarios. (paraphrased)

I guess what I learned is that Michael is still missing, newspaper articles don't have the correct facts, there are lots of leads and they will update at the right time and they will update when Michael is found.

Press release from Suffolk Cty Police dated 7/29/2010
http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/police/pressrelease/prview.aspx?id=ter&prid=314&year=2010
Incident:West Islip Man MissingLocation:Everdell Avenue, West IslipDate/Time: The Suffolk County Police Fugitive/Missing Persons Section is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a West Islip man who has been missing since June.
Michael Taus, 25, was last seen on the night of June 18 at his home on Everdell Avenue . Taus’s dog, Romeo, has also been missing since that time. Taus’s vehicle has since been recovered in Elmont in Nassau County.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Taus is asked to call the Missing Persons Section at 631-852-6040 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential


http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/police/morepress.htm

Thanks, Dreamweaver, for taking the time to call the detective on this case. I've only been to that part of Long Island once, but if I remember correctly some parts of Islip are beautiful, and some look pretty sleazy - with quite a few cheap motels/short-stay motels around that look like they are targeted toward escorts, truck drivers, those having affairs, etc.

I haven't even read much about Michael in the local news here, and the Daily News usually prints lots of news out of Long Island. It's amazing how little attention missing mens' cases get, compared to those of missing women. I feel so badly for Michael's family.

Looking at the pictures of Michael and hearing about his close relationship with his Dad and family it doesn't 'feel' like Michael would have taken off on his own. What I do find strange is that Michael was close enough with his Dad to have invited him over the day he went missing to help him try on new clothes and choose an outfit to wear for the date, which to me indicates a closer-than-usual father-son relationship (not in a bad way), yet he wouldn't reveal to his Dad who the date was WITH. I doubt it was with an escort, because would Michael really be careful in selecting an outfit he was going to wear to see a prostitute? Not likely. If the news reports about what his Dad says are true, it seems Michael was very excited about meeting someone in person whom he had never met before in person but had communicated with on the Internet (I think reports specified Match.com). Yet we haven't heard anything about detectives finding anything on Michael's computer about a potential date, so what does that mean? That there was none? That it was with a man instead of a woman and therefore the family wants to keep this information confidential? It just seems like this should be an easy, open and shut case - forensically analyze Michael's computer and determine the ISP address of the person with whom he was e-mailing about a date, or subpoena records from Match.com. So what's going on?

The missing dog bowls and the missing dog could be either a good or bad sign. Because the dog hasn't shown up on the streets apparently, it gives me hope Michael took off and brought his beloved dog with him. However it could also mean whoever murdered Michael also murdered his dog, and they are buried/disposed of next to one another.

What a sad case. Sending my thoughts to Michael, his family, and his pup. Hoping this case won't be one of those that just fades into oblivion with never a resolution.

Why wouldn't Michael share with his Dad any info about his date that night if his Dad was at his house and the two of them were essentially choosing an outfit for him to wear? Was this unusual behavior for Michael, I wonder? Did he usually tell his Dad details about the girls he was going to meet, or was he always pretty secretive, I wonder? If he usually was more open, what was different about this particular date that he couldn't share details? Was it someone known to the family/to Michael and he didn't want his Dad to know he was meeting this woman - because she is married, perhaps? Anyone else think of any other reasons Michael wouldn't share info about this particular date if he were usually more open about his love life?

And if this wasn't unusual behavior for Michael and he was always pretty secretive about his dating life, why would that be?

Hoping we hear more info about Michael, and soon. Very worried his case will be forgotten.

Unfortunately my theory was deleted weeks ago so I will not repeat it.

However I will clarify that West Islip is a very nice place to live. Many streets have a canal running through their backyards and most homeowners have boats.

Fleabag motels? I think not.

Where you probably should do your research is in Elmont, where the car was found. A whole other ball of wax... 20-somethings on LI go to Manhattan or the Hamptons to party. Not Elmont. And certainly not for a summertime date.

Elmont is in Nassau County (and some parts may be in Queens), not Suffolk. You may have better luck with those LE...

One other thing is that Michael taking the dog with him makes me think "beach", especially since he brought the dog bowl (to give the dog water after running).

The closest beach to Elmont is Jones Beach.

I was born and raised in Islip, and still live very close by (my parents still live there too.) This case scares me to death, and Elmont is a very good distance away from Islip. As far as "Dog friendly" dates, the beach is a good theory, although there is a popular dog park in Bayshore (next door.) Any questions regarding the area, I'm happy to help!

Unfortunately, although Suffolk County Police are one of the highest paid in the country, they tend to focus more on missing children, and missing adults often take the back burner.

God bless Michael and his family!