This is from me, Dad, Kathleen
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Come home, dad, I miss you so much!
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Kin, friends share hopes for missing man
His relatives design T-shirts and a Web site in their quest for answers.
By Abbie Vansickle
Published June 4, 2005
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HOMOSASSA - About a dozen people stood in the spitting rain near the biggest known clue to the whereabouts of George "Skip" Zelaya.
It was Friday afternoon, and Zelaya's relatives and friends gathered in the parking lot of Publix on U.S. 19 in Homosassa. A few pointed to the spot where Zelaya's 1988 white Lincoln was found in mid January.
None has heard from him since.
"He has five kids," said Eileen Zelaya, 39, one of his daughters, who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. "I don't think he would just walk away."
The Zelaya family is desperate for information about the missing man, a 62-year-old whose youthful face and dark brown hair make him appear years younger. His relatives have set up a Web site at http://findgeorgeskipzelaya.com to help them find him. They've offered $2,500 for information. The Victims' Rights Foundation, a Maryland nonprofit, is working with the family.
They've made T-shirts. A photograph on the front shows a smiling man with a striped red shirt. On the back is a Bible verse: "Nothing shall be hid that shall not be revealed; Matt 10:26." The verse hints at the family's suspicion that someone knows something about what happened to him.
"Who goes to hide to commit suicide?" asked his brother, Joe Zelaya, 63, also of Homosassa.
Joe Zelaya was the only family member at Friday's meeting to have heard anything from his brother, he said. A few days after the car was found, Joe Zelaya received a note in the mail from his brother. It had information about a bank account and was signed, "Sorry, Skip," he said. But the ZIP code was wrong, he said, and the note raised more questions than it answered.
"All I've got is suspicions and questions," he said.
Zelaya was last seen about 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at his home on the 5700 block of S Sea Otter Path in Homosassa, according to the Web site. His former wife, Paula, said she saw his abandoned car later at Publix, according to family members and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office released information in January about his disappearance, but it seemed scant information was available.
Zelaya, a handyman and electrician, lived with Paula Zelaya at the time of his disappearance, according to the family. She could not be reached for comment.
Zelaya was last seen wearing jeans, a long-sleeve dress shirt and work boots, according to the Web site. Zelaya was lured to Citrus by the hope of working at the Crystal River nuclear power plant, his children said. When that dream didn't come true, he worked odd jobs.
The Web site is full of personal details about Zelaya. He enjoys watching football and cheers for the Washington Redskins. He smokes nonfilter Camel cigarettes and drinks Budweiser beer and orange juice with rum on the rocks.
Anyone with information about Zelaya's whereabouts is asked to call 911 or 726-1121. An anonymous tip line is also available at 1-888-269-8477.
Email Us with tips at:
tips@findgeorgeskipzelaya.com
If you have any questions :send questions to this site and we will message you as quickly as possible.
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http://www.findgeorgeskipzelaya.com
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ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
Citrus County Sheriff's Dept.
(352) 726-4488
or
Email Us with tips at:
tips@findgeorgeskipzelaya.com
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This site will be monitored by Deb and Skip's family members. Please post comments of encouragement for them if you would like. Please ask your friends to add this site to their friends' list. The more people that know, the more the word gets out. The key to finding a missing person is awareness and exposure! If someone has done something to Skip...maybe you or someone saw something or heard something. This is a true mystery, so all you CSI lovers and law enforcement read over the details, tell us what you think. Thanks!
Television
Cold Case Unit will turn up heat on old Citrus County crimes
By Dave Pieklik
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office is about to turn up the heat on 12 unsolved cases through its new Cold Case Unit.
The unit will take a “deeper and closer look” at the cases, Detective Lee Alexander said Monday, in the hopes of cracking some investigations as old as 32 years. The three-volunteer unit is expected to begin operating by Sunday.
“They will look at potential leads that might have been missed,” Alexander said, “and suggest investigative avenues to the assigned detectives.”
Alexander said the unit would likely use former CIA, FBI and other investigators to examine the unsolved cases. The cases then will be reviewed to determine which ones are likely to be solved or generate the most progress.
“A new look at an old case can find something that other people missed,” the detective said.
Examples of old cases getting a new look are the homicides of 21-year-old Susan Smith and 41-year-old Debra Sue Owens. Smith’s body was found Nov. 3, 1973, near Rock Crusher Road west of Lecanto; she had been stabbed to death.
Owens’ body was found Sept. 28, 2002, off County Road 480 west of Floral City, in a wooded area off Trail 11 of the Withlacoochee State Forest. She had been shot to death.
Leads in both cases, including talking to people of interest, failed to result in arrests. However, changes in technology, such as DNA comparison and improved evidence retrieval, now aid investigators looking for that missing piece of evidence.
And Alexander said investigators could get help from an unexpected ally: the passage of time. While people often assume time is an enemy of older cases, the detective suggests the opposite is true.
He said through time, relationships could change between people who might have knowledge about a crime. A person might become more comfortable coming forward now to provide information.
Some cases will always stay cold, Alexander said, because the evidence just isn’t there. But maybe not in some cases.
It’s a chance Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto welcomes.
“They’re difficult cases,” he said. “Certainly, getting somebody on them is a good idea.”
Which is the idea Sheriff Jeff Dawsy had in mind when he suggested the initiative, Alexander said. Before, because of current investigations and workload, he said investigators weren’t able to spend as much time as they would have liked reviewing cold cases.
Now, a more in-depth study of those cases will be allowed, he said. The public will soon get its chance to help solve the crimes, when information about each case is posted on the sheriff’s office Web site.
Reopening files extends beyond cracking a case, or, in some instances, giving closure to still-grieving families. Alexander said most of the cases deal with homicides.
He quickly put things into perspective.
“When a homicide goes unsolved, there’s always the potential that there’s another one out there. Because if a person can kill once, they can kill twice,” Alexander said. “And if we don’t get these people behind bars, there may be another victim out there we don’t know about, or a victim that we may be able to stop from becoming a victim if we can resolve these cases.”
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This St. Petersburg Times
Kin, friends share hopes for missing man
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published June 4, 2005
HOMOSASSA - About a dozen people stood in the spitting rain near the biggest known clue to the whereabouts of George "Skip" Zelaya.
It was Friday afternoon, and Zelaya's relatives and friends gathered in the parking lot of Publix on U.S. 19 in Homosassa. A few pointed to the spot where Zelaya's 1988 white Lincoln was found in mid January.
None has heard from him since.
"He has five kids," said Eileen Zelaya, 39, one of his daughters, who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. "I don't think he would just walk away."
Heroes
LETTERS OR THOUGHTS FOR SKIP FROM FAMILY!
Dear Dad,
Across any distance I send my love! I know you are still with me. You taught me the one thing I will always remember, "If you are going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all". Another thing, respect, loyalty and courage I learned from you. Whenever you have ever looked in my eyes I've always felt you really see the person inside of me. Everywhere I go and everything I do, you are with me! I keep writing, because I wish to speak with you and hear your voice even though, I know I will get no response. But it's o.k., I KNOW your still with me! Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, right Dad, but life goes on. Once again, "Across any distance I send my love!"
Just Me
Your daughter
Elizabeth
WOW DAD, I knew going down to Florida would have an effect on me, but I had no idea how hard it was really going to be. It very much still effects me even though I'm back home. Gosh, I miss you so desperatly it hurts and leaving without your kiss and smile goodbye and your words "I Love You" I will NEVER forget. You know Dad you probably think the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life was the day I broke my spinal cord and found out that I will never walk again. Not true. Not being able to see that grin of yours that lets me know I'm loved or just to call you when I'm feeling bad about myself and you make it all better. This is the worst pain I have ever felt, not knowing where you are. But hanging in there for you Dad.
ALL MY LOVE-ALWAYS-ELIZABETH
Well Dad ever since the hacker took all the thoughts and prayers away, I haven't really wanted to write in here. But I want you to know that I'm still thinking of you and praying to know where to find you.
The pain of not knowing where you are gets worse day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute and second by second - whoever said "time heals all wounds" was WRONG! It's really unbearable - it's hard to write this without tears streaming. It kills me to look at your face in some of the most beautiful pictures of you.
Where can I find you.........when will you be home???
I gotta go now, but I'll be back.
All my love, always,
Your Kathleen
George Robert "Skip" Zelaya
This site was created to help in the search for George "Skip" Zelaya. The answers to his disappearance are out there. Maybe you will be the one to solve this mystery. If you have any questions send a message to this site and we will answer you as quickly as possible.
Missing: January 13, 2005
Age Now: 63
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Brown with gray at temples
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 130 lbs
Missing From: Homosassa, FL
George was last seen at approximately 6:00pm at his residence in the vicinity of the 5700 block of S. Sea Otter Path in Homosassa, FL. His white, four door, 1988 Lincoln sedan was located the following day at a shopping center off of Hwy 19 in Homosassa, FL. He has a growth on his left pinky finger, and minor scars on hands and arms.
Skip likes:
Watching football on TV - in particular the Washington Redskins
Budweiser beer (always uses a coolie cup)
OJ and rum on the rocks
Non-filter Camel cigarettes
Levi or Wrangler jeans
Plays card games on computer
Has a great sense of clean humor
Loves animals
Was always there for his children
Last seen wearing blue jeans, long sleeve dress shirt and work boots
Uses glasses for reading
Full set of dentures - no real teeth left
Gets cluster headaches every few years
Has gout in legs
Has a bad back
Works with his hands
Electrician by trade - all around handyman
Self-employed
Heritage: Greek & Spanish (cannot speak either)
DOB: May 22, 1943
Missing: January 13, 2005
Age Now: 61
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Brown with gray at temples
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 130 lbs
Missing From: Homosassa, FL
George was last seen at approximately 6:00pm at his residence in the vicinity of the 5700 block of S. Sea Otter Path in Homosassa, FL. His white, four door, 1988 Lincoln sedan was located the following day at a shopping center (Publix) off of Hwy 19 in Homosassa, FL. He has a growth on his left pinky finger, and minor scars on hands and arms. He wears a silver Timex watch.
From us to All that are searching...thanks "someone"
Skip is missing from Homosassa!'s Friend Space (Top 36)
Three billion people on the face of the earth go to bed hungry every night, but four billion people go to bed every night hungry for a simple word of encouragement and recognition.
-Cavett Robert
just wanted to give you some encouragement friend..love tera
