New Path In Bova Case
Investigator Re-Interviews Several People, Learns New Information
POSTED: September 21, 2008
"New Path In Bova Case"
LAKEWOOD - New developments in the missing person case of Lori Ceci Bova are giving investigators a new path of attack and the family a cautious hope.
Sgt. Investigator Paul Gustafson has been in charge of the case since he took the initial complaint from her husband, Tyrone Bova, at 11:14 a.m. on June 8, 1997.
Gustafson said that recent developments in the case have led him to re-interview a number of people and take the investigation in new directions.
''In the past several months, I've re-interviewed about 30 to 40 people,'' Gustafson said. ''Through these interviews, I learned some new information and have been digging deeper into the case from a new angle.''
Gustafson said he couldn't elaborate on specifics regarding the investigation, but did take time to dispell ''street theories'' which have circulated since Lori's disappearance.
Her husband at the time, Tyrone, was not a police officer as some people have claimed. In fact, he did attend a police academy in North Carolina, where the couple had moved for a short time, but never finished the training, Gustafson said. Tyrone was a contractor at the time of Lori's disappearance, he added.
''There are certain things that were going on at that time in her life that are case-sensitive, but that is certainly not the case,'' he said of the theory.
Gustafson said he couldn't say if Tyrone was among the people recently re-interviewed, but did maintain that he has not been helpful with the investigation.
''We've never had any cooperation from Tyrone,'' Gustafson said. ''He has never assisted us in any way, shape or form since the beginning.''
It is reported that Tyrone is currently living in North Carolina and has since remarried and has children. Efforts by The Post-Journal to locate and contact him for comment have not yet been fruitful.
Lori was last seen leaving the Red Lobster restaurant in Lakewood with her husband, sister and brother-in-law on June 7, 1997. Tyrone said they went home and had some type of argument, and around 2 a.m. she went for a walk and never returned.
Nine hours later, Tyrone contacted the police and Lori's family began searching for her.
Since that day, a number of situations have provided false hope for Lori's family, although one of them gave partial closure to another family.
When the body of Yolanda Bindics was found in a heavily wooded area in the town of Charlotte, Lori's family was notified. DNA evidence later proved it was indeed Yolanda, but for a few lingering days, the possibility remained.
When a clump of hair and a sweatshirt were found at different times in Chautauqua Lake, speculation peaked but only to be debunked shortly after.
''We were actually able to locate the owner of the sweatshirt who said he fell off a boat on the lake and lost it,'' Gustafson said. ''And when we compared the hair with her DNA samples, we were able to rule her out. It seemed like hair from a hairbrush.''
Psychics and mediums including the famous Sylvia Brown have all chimed in on what they think happened to Lori, but to no avail.
''I've had people try to read my palm and swing a pendiulium in front of my face,'' Gustafson said. ''But we never received anything solid from those routes.''
New technology has aided with Lori's still unsolved case, Gustafson said.
''I've been on this job for 18 years, and everything has changed in that time,'' he said. ''New technology and techniques have helped us because some of it wasn't available in 1997.''
Gustafson said that after 11 years of working Lori's case, he feels like he knows her and owes it to her family to deliver them closure.
''My efforts have always been the same; find the person who knows where Lori is and bring closure to her family,'' he said. ''I will not give up until the day I can make that call.''
Amy Cleveland, a close friend of Lori and the Ceci family's spokesperson, said they are thankful for Gustafson's determination and hopeful recent developments will bring an end to the saga which has consumed their lives for the past 11 years.
''We are so grateful to him,'' she said. ''He said he would never give up and he hasn't. We're cautiously optimistic but hope that something will come out of this.''
Ms. Cleveland said that the past 11 years have been unreal for her and the Ceci family and not a day passes without thought of Lori coming into their conscious minds.
''You see things like this happening on TV all the time, but we are living it,'' she said. ''All we can do is not let her be forgotten and pray, everyday.''
Anyone with information about the case, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is asked to call Gustafson at 763-9563.
A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction.
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