SULLIVAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE-PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: 8/27/17
On Saturday August 26, 2017, at approximately 12:00 noon, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a vehicle located in the woods, approximately one half mile from Dailey Road in the Town of Cochecton. The caller believed that the vehicle was the 2004 Ford Explorer being sought in the disappearance of Cochecton resident Lawrence “Lorenzo” Molinaro, age 76. Using UTVs, Sheriff’s Deputies reached the site off of a logging road on the property of the Bar 25 Hunting Club. Deputies confirmed the vehicle by its license plate and found skeletal remains at the scene. “The vehicle was located in dense woods under a thick canopy of trees”, said Sheriff Mike Schiff. “Hunting club members were present in the woods earlier in the day repairing deer stands and setting trail cameras when they spotted the vehicle”, he said.
Moliaro was the subject of a three state search after he was last seen by a neighbor on Tuesday December 27, 2016. He was reported missing on Thursday December 29, 2016 after he missed a doctor’s appointment at Catskill Regional Medical Center. In addition to following numerous leads and investigating several sightings, deputies searched the surrounding area with the assistance of a state police helicopter and utilized the Sullivan County Dive Team to search the Delaware River near Narrowsburg.
Sullivan County Coroner Alan Kesten responded to the scene on Saturday and ordered the removal of the remains for an autopsy. “The clothing and other items found at the scene were consistent with the information we developed during the investigation”, said the Sheriff. “We hope to confirm the identity of the remains through forensic examination shortly”.
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