Wonder why RFG did not pick Milton Park on 642. Much more clandestine and a lot more places to dump the laptop and drive? Two road bridge and two rail bridges.
So I am agreeing that the laptop took a jump off the bridge, but I don't think RFG did. The drive could have been tossed from either the bank or the bridge due to light weight. There is a reason RFG came to Lewisburg. My gut tells me it was not random. Just don't know why yet.
There is something dealing with "rage," but anger.
When RFG was first elected, the office was considered part time; all prior DA's had an outside practice. That was the norm in smaller counties. Within 5 weeks of being sworn in he was pitching making him a full time DA, nearly doubling his salary. His salary was $20 k ($45 k today), so it was not huge.
A couple of things with this. He knew that everyone before him (and he served under two other DA's) had an outside practice. He knew what the salary was. His wife, even at that point, was making at least what he would be making as a full-time DA. The county offered to hire an additional ADA so that he could not have as much to do; RFG said no.
He tried to get the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association to adopt a motion a resolution calling for all DA's to be full time. He resigned from PDAA when they didn't. The position being full time was the major issue in the 1993 election.
The county made the office full time in 1997 and RFG donated the difference in the to charity, which is common for an elected official. I've talked to a few people people about RFG's greatest accomplishment as DA, and they generally cite making the position full time. He did have other accomplishments as DA, some of which were cutting edge.
Looking at RFG's comments even in 1986, being full time was important to him. I have wondered if this was a source of anger for him. I'm wondering if he thought **Well, the county treated my badly for 12 years, so I don't care if my departure causes confusion or makes more work for the county. The county deserves it.**
That is another potential motivation for walk away. There is no shortage of potential motives.
This causes me to wonder:
Did he stay married to Barbara longer than he wanted to because of the financial issue?
IF the most impressive thing which can be said about his tenure as DA of Centre County is getting the job classified as a full time job, well, that's not a legacy, that's a job classification!
.
Did he make Centre County better, or did he just get himself a full time career for 17 or so years and shuffle papers?
I wish we had access to more random video of him doing ordinary things before he disappeared. In the area of anger or rage, remember, he was said to be slamming his door shut in the weeks prior to his disappearance.
Anger? Fear? Totally fed up with thing? Making it clear " Do not disturb"? Totally wanting to be away from Patty?
Multiple choice?
Driving over to the far side of the river made some things very clear. RFG did not walk across the rail bridge and did not walk up the abandoned rail right of way. What is left of it is in peoples back yards. Anything along there would have been found by now. A large area along the river from the bridge down a ways has been cleared and what has not is very open right now. If RFG was along the river, I think he would have been seen. Any other wooded sections nearby are very open and visible right now. Doubt RFG walked that far and I think there is a high probability he would have been found. Walked the entire SOS. Now I know why. Place is an antique lovers Mecca. It goes on forever. Would take an entire day to see everything. Need to process this for a while as I have a whole new perspective.
Driving over to the far side of the river made some things very clear. RFG did not walk across the rail bridge and did not walk up the abandoned rail right of way. What is left of it is in peoples back yards. Anything along there would have been found by now. A large area along the river from the bridge down a ways has been cleared and what has not is very open right now. If RFG was along the river, I think he would have been seen. Any other wooded sections nearby are very open and visible right now. Doubt RFG walked that far and I think there is a high probability he would have been found. Walked the entire SOS. Now I know why. Place is an antique lovers Mecca. It goes on forever. Would take an entire day to see everything. Need to process this for a while as I have a whole new perspective.
Jana, there are at least three floors of small dealer areas. A few were staffed. There are three staffers who can ring up purchases. On the entry floor there is an old postal window that is staffed. There are glass cases and fabricated "shops" that have all manner of modern and older Americana. The other floors are more small divided areas with shelves and cases. There is a second sales counter on the floor below and a basement below that. All items are tagged with the dealers initials and price so that the staff can identify who gets the money. Posted signs say that the SOS is secure and locked up at night. You can be a dealer and not have to put in any time, just set up our shelves and items they will handle everything for you. There are 200 dealers on one floor alone. The SOS is much larger than it appears from Google Street View or Google Earth. There is a restaurant in the center of the main floor that is just a step above the ones found in farmers markets. The building was originally a woolen mill. They claim 375 "shops", but I don't think this counts the small dealer spots as there were at least 75-100 spots in the basement alone.
On Thursday I walked the entire park area, sat on "the bench" and took in the ambiance of the spot. Veterans Memorial in the center, some benches placed about, trees and lawn. There is a sharp drop off and a lower flat near the rivers edge. The entrance to the rail bridge is cleared with some orange plastic fencing around the stone entrance to keep people from climbing on it due to it's deteriorated condition. The bridge is missing a lot of it's wooden deck making it impossible for all but the agile to cross. There is a large aluminum section of fence bolted across the entrance and warning signs to keep off. The two islands were mostly underwater, much like the day RFG was there. There were a couple of boats near the bridge fishing. Very obvious that if there were remains around either bridge or the islands, they would have been found long ago. It is a peaceful spot to sit and contemplate. The Packwood House and other homes along the far side of the street from the park are all very old with a narrow stone sidewalk. You could easily imagine yourself being in the 1800's were it not for the traffic. I could easily see RFG sitting on the bench removing the drive from the laptop. If he tossed the drive from the embankment, it may have not gone out far enough for this liking and changed his plans for the disposal of the laptop to dropping it off the bridge. The far side of the bridge is an intersection, not a place to easily turn around and come back over. Probably turned around somewhere in the area and came back across when there was no sign of traffic, stopped and tossed it out the passenger window, or had a passenger do it about mid span. There is almost a constant flow of traffic, so it was done with care and a watchful eye for witnesses. My gut feeling is that RFG went to Lewisburg, and the park in particular to disassemble and toss the laptop. The SOS was a bonus and perhaps helped to nail down Lewisburg as both a quiet spot away from people who could identify RFG on sight and to spend some time in the SOS with the antiques that he loved. I think the drive was tossed early on. Then some time in the SOS and a drive across the bridge and back to toss the laptop. The car then went back into the parking spot and possibly another trip into the SOS. The mystery lady could have been anyone. Town is full of tourists and college students, even on an overcast and cold day.
If you're still in the area, I recommend you eat at Gram's.On Thursday I walked the entire park area, sat on "the bench" and took in the ambiance of the spot. Veterans Memorial in the center, some benches placed about, trees and lawn. There is a sharp drop off and a lower flat near the rivers edge. The entrance to the rail bridge is cleared with some orange plastic fencing around the stone entrance to keep people from climbing on it due to it's deteriorated condition. The bridge is missing a lot of it's wooden deck making it impossible for all but the agile to cross. There is a large aluminum section of fence bolted across the entrance and warning signs to keep off. The two islands were mostly underwater, much like the day RFG was there. There were a couple of boats near the bridge fishing. Very obvious that if there were remains around either bridge or the islands, they would have been found long ago. It is a peaceful spot to sit and contemplate. The Packwood House and other homes along the far side of the street from the park are all very old with a narrow stone sidewalk. You could easily imagine yourself being in the 1800's were it not for the traffic. I could easily see RFG sitting on the bench removing the drive from the laptop. If he tossed the drive from the embankment, it may have not gone out far enough for this liking and changed his plans for the disposal of the laptop to dropping it off the bridge. The far side of the bridge is an intersection, not a place to easily turn around and come back over. Probably turned around somewhere in the area and came back across when there was no sign of traffic, stopped and tossed it out the passenger window, or had a passenger do it about mid span. There is almost a constant flow of traffic, so it was done with care and a watchful eye for witnesses. My gut feeling is that RFG went to Lewisburg, and the park in particular to disassemble and toss the laptop. The SOS was a bonus and perhaps helped to nail down Lewisburg as both a quiet spot away from people who could identify RFG on sight and to spend some time in the SOS with the antiques that he loved. I think the drive was tossed early on. Then some time in the SOS and a drive across the bridge and back to toss the laptop. The car then went back into the parking spot and possibly another trip into the SOS. The mystery lady could have been anyone. Town is full of tourists and college students, even on an overcast and cold day.