U.S. Postal Service Investigating Missing Worker Robert Lathan(body found)

[cw618]

mods if you need to move, ok

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-missing-man-txt,0,183799.story
U.S. Postal Service Investigating Missing Worker
Kevin Freeman Fox 8 Reporter
January 13, 2010

CLEVELAND - The mystery has deepened in the case of the postal worker who has been missing since Friday,
as a national search team joined his family in looking for him.

Fox 8 has learned that federal agents executed a search warrant on Lathan's home Tuesday morning.

Special agent Scott Balfour would not discuss their investigation, but released this statement to Fox 8 News:
 "Special agents with the Office of Inspector General for the United States Postal Service investigate crimes
 committed by postal service employees, including mail theft, financial embezzlement, worker's comp and other
 types of crimes."

Lathan's family says it is their understanding that the postal service was just trying to help locate Robert.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the founder of the professional search team Texas Equusearch joined the hunt for
49-year old Robert Lathan. He was reported last seen early Friday morning. His brother, Christopher, says
they were involved in a car accident on Martin Luther King Boulevard and St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland.

"This is what they do, I asked them please help me, I need everybody, anybody to help me find my brother,
" said another brother, Reginald Lathan.

"When two Cleveland police officers came in there and said that you were in a car accident and you were by
yourself in a car accident, and I knew that was wrong off the rip...I told them 'no I was not', I said
'my brother was with me," Christopher Lathan told Fox 8 News.

Lathan's brother Christopher says Robert was driving the car, but a police report indicates Christopher
 was found on the driver's side, and there was no sign of Robert in the vehicle. Christopher Lathan admits
 he had been drinking before the crash and doesn't remember what happened.

"He's trying to piece together little parts of it, but unfortunately it's still a gray...that time lapse
from them leaving his house and after the accident is still gray to him, he still can't quite put it all
the way together," said Robert Lathan's son, Roberto.

With the help of police officers and firefighters, Tim Miller searched nearby Doan's Creek by boat. He says
 a covering of 2 to 3 inches of ice, is making the search difficult.

"We're here until we feel we've used up every resource and if there's nothing else we can give, no sense
in us staying, so we'll stay as long as we can be productive," Miller said.

Tim Miller says three more people from EquuSearch were flying to Cleveland from Texas Wednesday night to help
continue the search for Lathan Thursday morning.

If you have any information regarding Robert Lathan's whereabouts, contact the Cleveland Police Department

there is a park where the crash was, but not big enough you couldnt find someone
i lived near the circle, when i was in grade school, and played and picnic in that park

Edited to add name to subject title.  MB

[cw618]

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-driver-missing-accident-mlk.txt,0,2633327.story

Driver Still Missing After Friday Morning Accident
Bill Sheil Fox 8 I-Team Reporter
January 10, 2010

CLEVELAND -- Police confirm they are working an active missing persons report that sounds like it came out
of a mystery novel.

His family tells Fox 8 News he simply vanished. "Robert has disappeared," says Reginald Lathan of his older
brother. "He has disappeared."

On Friday morning, authorities were called to a single car accident near St. Clair and Martin Luther King.
Another brother, Christopher Lathan, says he was hurt in the wreck, but was stunned by what police told him
at Huron Hospital.

According to Lathan, police said, "'you struck and hit something and you were in the car by yourself. And I
told them, 'no, I was not in the car by myself...I'm sure my brother was in the car with me.'"

But 49 year-old Robert Lathan has not been seen since. Robert has worked as a mail handler at the post office
for almost 20 years.

His brother says he would never miss work without alerting someone. "With his job, he has never not gone to
work and not called in..never," explains Reginald.

Robert has now missed two days of work.

His family says Robert has gone off alone before, but not without checking in with his sister and not without
calling into work.

They also tell Fox 8 News the only evidence of Robert found at the scene, was his shoes.

Police are continuing their investigation.

Anyone with information on Robert's whereabouts is asked to call Cleveland police.
Read all 274 comments »

vid at link
http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/?watchId=aec814d9-5f15-4a92-934d-d389c3ab3fe0

[cw618]

whoops wrong order of events #2 post should have been #1
another link
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=7798.0

somethings not right, there is a culvert about a 1/2 mile away
that runs under I90 and goes to lake erie, but getting there without being seen

[MuffyBee]

I'm going to move this over to our Missing Person's thread, cw618.  I hope Robert Lathan will be found soon. 

[zap]

He has been located deceased this morning by Tim Miller and TES:

http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11821248

RIP

[MuffyBee]

Thank you for bringing the  news, Zap.   How very sad.   Rest in Peace Robert Latham.   

[cw618]

the reason the family is mad is because of the district that the crash happened in.
the division seems to have handled this the same way as the sowell case
the 5th district police dept. commander wayne drummond, is the same Division, that
handled the sowell reports, and we know how that ended up its not looking
good for that division these days, i think the internal investigation, is prob
going to go to the state attorney generals office now, i know cops dont get paid enough
for the job they do, but dam you wanted to be a cop, so do the job, ya know
im going to try and find out if its the same officers that went to the sowell house
an autopsy will determine if Lathan drowned,or died from some other trauma
just so sad, i feel for all people in the 5th, when they call for help from the police,
are they going to get an officer, that knows what he is doing, or one like, the officers
that worked this case and the sowell case

http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11821248
Sad End: Texas Search Group Finds Body of Missing Man In Creek, Family Furious
Posted: Jan 14, 2010 8:50 AM EST
Updated: Jan 14, 2010 12:58 PM EST

UPDATE: CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO ) - The body of a missing 49-year-old Cleveland postal worker has been found.

According to family members, Robert Lathan was in the car with his brother, Christopher, when the car hit
a light pole and flipped around 5:45AM Friday morning.

When the ambulance arrived, only Christopher was in the Cadillac. Robert's shoes were found in the vehicle.

Late Thursday morning, a Texas search and rescue group in town to help Lathan's family in the search, found
his body in a creek along MLK.

Lathan's family is absolutely furious. They say police did not believe Christopher when he said Robert was
in the car with him at the time of the accident. Now, the grieving family wants answers.

"My brother might have been thrown from that car," says Reginald Lathan. "And I had to raise all kind of h**l
to get the police even down here 14 hours later. To shine a flashlight in there (the creek) and not do s**t."

vids in order of the event as reported
you can get them here to in the vid gallery
http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11821248

http://www.woio.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=4452405&at1=News&h1=Postal Worker Vanishes After Car Accident&flvUri=&partnerclipid=

http://www.woio.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=4455261&at1=News&h1=National Search and Rescue Group Joins Hunt For Missing Postal Worker&flvUri=&partnerclipid=

http://www.woio.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=4455799&at1=News&h1=Stepped-Up Search for Missing Cleveland Postal Worker&flvUri=&partnerclipid=

http://www.woio.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=4458709&at1=News&h1=Body of Missing Postal Worker Found In Cleveland Creek&flvUri=&partnerclipid=