ME ME - Bernard 'Bunny' Ross Jr, 18, Presque Isle, 12 May 1977

masnitram

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Bernard "Bunny" Ross Jr was ruled out as a possibility for a WI-UID; this is the reply from Bernard's brother Patrick and the new link on The Charley Project w/ pictures of Bernard.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/ross_bernard.html

Hello,

My name is Patrick Ross. I am the brother of Bernard "Bunny" Ross, a missing person mentioned in the posts on this forum. I wanted to set the record straight concerning my brothers disappearance.

I was contacted several days ago on the phone. (Actually, my Dad was but due to his hearing difficulties, he asked me to take the call since I happened to be visiting.) It was a lady named Barbara calling from New Jersey asking us to look at some photos of a JD from Delafield, WI who she thought could be my brother. She emailed us two photos of the man and we immediately were able to conclude it was not my brother Bunny. I emailed her our conclusion, but received no reply from her.

Carbuff was so off target with his comments about how "insular and suspicious people in rural Maine stilll are". First off, the Maine state police have had photos of my brother since his disappearance. They were recent photos (at that time) and were of very good quality. Second, a massive search was conducted by my Dad along with the state police when my brother disappeared. There were reported sitings of him in the area, but he was never found. My father and mother have maintained constant contact with the state police over the years and have never given up hope of finding my brother. Many times they have been sent photos of John Doe's by the police trying to see if it was my brother or not. They have always cooperated and will continue to do so. I don't know any northen Maine folks who are scared to have their picture taken as Carbuff suggests. Don't confuse this with people wanting their privacy to be respected.

On the day my brother left home in Fort Kent, he took my parents car without permission and drove to Presque Isle to his Aunt's house. We believe that he wanted to talk to his cousin who he was close to. He was despondent at the time. After arriving at my Aunt's house, we believe he panicked and decided to depart immediately after arriving. She had hired a painter to paint her house and he had parked a truck in her driveway when he showed up to work that morning. My brother left my parents car and decided to take the painters truck. Not sure why he did this but that's what happened. The truck was later found abandoned but not damaged. After explaining to the painter my brothers despondent state at the time and his age, charges were dropped. Prior to this incident, my brother never had a criminal record and still doesn't as far as we know. He was a loving, kind person who wouldn't hurt anybody. He was having life issues that caused him to leave home like he did. We never could have predicted that he would runaway like he did. Throw away all your theories about him having a criminal record and running from the law. That's not why he left home. We have nothing to hide about his past.

I have talked to my Mom and Dad about providing a photo of my brother to this website and others. My Mom and Dad aren't too computer savvy and are sometimes wary of providing personal information to folks they don't know. They have provided me some photos and told me to wait a few days so they can think about it. This might seem odd but crazy things happen on the Internet sometimes. They desperately want to find my brother but also are wary of just giving up his photo to folks they don't know.

I respect the job you and others are doing in attempting to solve these cases. Please don't think any different based on my previous comments. There were just many comments in the posts that questioned my family's commitment to find my brother and that bothered us. Thanks again for what you are doing and I'll be in touch soon. God Bless.

Patrick Ross
 
Copying CarlK's post from the UID forum where Bernard was brought up as a possible match for a UID.

These are excellent suggestions and did not want them buried in the other thread.


Originally posted by CarlK90245:

Patrick:

If you do decide to publicize a photo of your brother (along with his vital statistics, useful identifying information, and a brief narrative of the details of his disappearance), you should contact the following:

Charley Project (Meaghan Goode): goodmeaghan@gmail.com
Doe Network (Helene Wahlstrom): helenewahlstrom@gmail.com
NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org

(NamUs is a self-serve operation. In order to list a missing person on NamUs, the family member or law enforcement agency in charge of the missing person's case must register and create a Missing Persons case file online.)
 
It would also be great to get Bernards case listed at NamUs.
Along with providing the appropriate agencies with any dentals for Bernard along with DNA....

WS member believe09 can help address how to get DNA done if it is not already done. There are free kits available to LE to have this done.
 
Bernards case has been added to the Doe Network.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1105dmme.html

He is a handsome guy... I was going to say 'kid' but he is not a kid anymore. I hope he is out there somewhere safe...... Maybe if he is he will see this and come forward. We can hope......
 
Hello, I am the one who called Bernard Bunny Ross' family back in 2010. I'm Barbara from NJ. I just wanted to rule out him as a potential match for the unidentified male in Delafield. I have been studying and following the Delafield case for over 6 years now, and I have almost every bit of info that there is on the case. I have been trying so hard to get this case heard on the news; it's sad that it's not on the news yet. He would probably be identified. It's time to take advantage of the social technology we have today to give him a name!! I have contacted many news stations and so far I have had one channel only "somewhat" interested. I will continue to await replies from the others. All we need to do is circulate his photo- and what better way than TV?!?! I truly feel that all this needs is a little TV air time and publicity and I think this case could be solved just like that. The detective from Delafield that I contacted said that he also has been trying to get it on the news but they aren't interested in broadcasting it. I think if we all team up and try to get it on the news, we may be able to!! I will start up a petition from fellow Websleuthers, if anyone is interested. I have made some websites dedicated to John Doe of Delafield (died 1977):
http:/2kfc.zapd.co (that's the main site)
I also have a myspace with info : search needtoi
and a facebook page (needtoid)
I have manually sent his photo to many peope via facebook, mostly women named Laura or Lauri... there is controversy due to data entry from a while back the actual name on the lighter. We do know this guy was operating a stolen vehicle, and he had a key ring full of other stolen vehicle keys, which implies he may have done this more than once... unless he was SET UP which coudl have been the case.
I have a few theories:
**someone before said something about a fugitive- I agree this could be
**OR maybe he was from another country- he looks Russian, Slavic, or Ugyslovian
**OR maybe he was never reported missing because he was a runaway "bad-boy" type
I mean, if he was a car thief, chances are is his family probably either wasn't so happy with him, wasn't around, wasn't alive, or maybe was a bad influence themselves or involved in crime as well. This is the theory I think holds the truest. Because think about it-- he had a upper dental plate at such a young age... he could have had his teeth knocked out by a gang or by doing crime. maybe his family/friends KNOW what happened to him but it was just never came forth to police in fear of retaliation. Anyway, I am 100% confident this case WILL get solved.. I will see to it. I now have a chronic illness and promised myself that before this takes over me even more I would make sure this gets on the air or somehow gets more publicity.
 
Kennebec Journal, Feb. 5 2012

Age progression side-by-side at bottom of article.

Still missing: Parents never give up when children disappear

"Ross and her husband, Bernard Ross Sr., 76, live in Portland.

Recently, the Rosses got a glimpse of what their son might look like today after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children developed an age-progressed image. The center combined the parents' and siblings' facial features with their son's high school senior portrait to show what a middle-aged version of Bernard Ross Jr. might look like.

"It's still kind of strange to look at it," the father said.

He added that news of missing children such as Ayla Reynolds stirs up old feelings.

"It brings up some pain, some grief and hope for that child," he said."
 
I wondered if Bernard ever went or would go by the name Peter... I remember someone by that name, Maine, summer 1977 who bore a striking resemblance. Strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, gentle soul. About that weight, but I didn't think he was that tall. Interested in farming. Met him in Portland. If so, I might know what happened to him. Certainly don't want to upset anyone, or get anyone's hopes up, of course.
 
Hello,

I am Bernard Ross younger brother Patrick. I don't ever remember Bernard (or Bunny as we called him) going by the name Peter, but that doesn't mean he didn't use that name when he went missing. He may have been frightened because he did take someone's truck which he later abandoned, undamaged. Please tell me more about the man you met in Portland who looked similiar to Bernard. My family is desperate to know what happened to my brother. Good or bad, please tell us what you might know. Thanks for your time.

Patrick Ross
 
I don't think Bernard resembles the Delafield UID. I've worked the Delafield case and I just don't see him being Bernard. Delafield UID was probably in Wheaton for court reasons, took a train from the western suburbs to Chicago and went north from there.

There is a thread for the Delafield UID in the UID forum.
 
Hi Patrick , This is Barbara, who called you about 5 years ago regarding your brother. I came across another posting of a man who looks like Bunny, except the case says he has brown eyes. He was found dead and perhaps because the face was unrecognizable , maybe they couldn't tell the eye color. (There's always room for data entry error.) I saw the pic and immediately saw a little resemblance and thought of bunny ross. He has the longer hair and mustache. The height was a little off but that could be from measuring errors on either end too. Please let me know your email so I can send you the pic of him to compare. I don't think I have your email address stored from years ago. Barb
 
BRoss.jpg
BRoss1.jpg
BRoss2.jpg

Right:Age-progressed to 50 years (circa 2010)
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1105dmme.html

Higher resolution images at NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8953/

Case Information
Status Missing
First name Bernard
Middle name
Last name Ross
Nickname/Alias Bun, Bunny
NCMEC number 1154562
Date last seen May 12, 1977 12:00
Date entered 12/17/2010
Age last seen 18 to 18 years old
Age now 56 years old
Race White
Ethnicity
Sex Male
Height (inches) 73.0
Weight (pounds) 160.0
Dental Status: Dental information / charting is currently not available
DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete
Fingerprint Information Status: Fingerprint information is currently not available

Bernard has been missing for 38 years.
 
A mysterious letter that was recently sent to a couple whose son disappeared in 1977 from Fort Kent has rekindled police interest in the 39-year-old case – and dredged up old emotions for his loved ones.

Bernard “Bunny” Ross Jr. was 18 years old when he vanished May 12, 1977, after leaving the family’s home one morning in a state of distress, his parents said. He was suspected of stealing a vehicle, which was later found abandoned on a dirt road in Ashland.


No one has heard from him since, and his parents, Carol, 78, and Bernard Ross Sr., 80, had to learn to live without knowing his fate.
But any peace they might have found was disrupted when they received an unsigned letter a couple of months ago at their home on Munjoy Hill in Portland, police said. The author indicated that he or she knew about their son’s disappearance, referenced a previous story in the Kennebec Journal about missing persons that mentioned the Ross case, and then suggested that another story about Ross should appear in the Kennebec Journal.
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/...s-interest-in-maine-missing-person-cold-case/
 
How cryptic! I hope someone isn't playing head games with them. That would be so cruel.
I wonder what the Kennebec Journal has to do with it all.
That poor family, my heart goes out.
 
Just came across the article on the letter his parents recieved. Let's hope this brings the attention this case needs and doesn't stir up the crazies. I wonder how thoroughly the area around the abandoned truck was searched. Also how much has that area been developed since then. Is anyone familiar with the area?
 

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