Nicholas Garza, 19, Middlebury college student missing 2/10/08(BODY FOUND)

[bleachedblack]

Garza River Search Comes Up Empty



May 9, 2008
Another underwater search for missing Middlebury College student Nick Garza produced no new clues.

A technical rescue team from Saranac, New York spent much of the day over a CVPS dam near the Weybridge-Middlebury town line in Otter Creek, looking under piles of debris.

The team from New York is headed home after two days of searching, but is planning to return to Middlebury at least one more time once water levels drop.

"There are cases in the North Country where rivers have taken people and never let them back out, so there's a probability and possibility we may never locate this person. When you take a camera that sees 3 to 4 feet at a time, clearly there has to be some luck involved with the skill," explained Don Uhler of Saranac Technical Rescue.

Search teams had also hoped to divert a small section of river just above the falls to search an old spillway. That section of river runs beneath several buildings in town. But crews have called off that plan due to safety concerns.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8302750

[klaasend]

According to the family website:

On May 27, 2008 our beautiful Nicholas was recovered from Otter Creek. We are filled with unspeakable grief and sadness with the loss of our beloved boy. We thank everyone for their prayers and support.

http://www.nicholasgarza.org/

[bleachedblack]

Body found in creek believed to be Nicholas Garza's

 May 27, 2008
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—A body believed to be that of missing collegian Nicholas Garza was pulled from the Otter Creek on Tuesday, police said.
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The badly-decomposed body of an unidentified male was found among sunken timber in a floating debris pile below a waterfall as authorities prepared to mount another search this weekend. Searchers were taking temperature readings in the river and performing depth soundings when the remains were found, according to Police Chief Tom Hanley.

"They do appear to be the remains of Nicholas Garza, but identification will be made at an autopsy tomorrow," said Hanley.

A wallet found on the body belonged to Garza, police said.

"It was Nick," said his mother, Natalie Garza, who was there when the body was removed.

Garza, 19, of Albuquerque, N.M., a freshman at Middlebury College, vanished Feb. 5 after leaving Stewart Hall dormitory during a winter break in classes, headed for his dormitory. He was reported missing five days later.

More than a half-dozen searches since then by Vermont State Police, search-and-rescue teams from around the region and volunteers organized by his mother turned up nothing.

His wallet and cell phone have never been found, even though police found a winter jacket and laptop computer in his dormitory room.

Some here believed the melting of snow at winter's end would yield clues or a body, but it didn't, nor did several searches of Otter Creek, including one last month after aerial imaging showed an unidentified object in the water.

Mrs. Garza had been living on the Middlebury College campus since shortly after the disappearance and enrolled her 9-year-old son in school here.

"The remains have been in the water for a long time. They are not in good shape," said Hanley.

The autopsy is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the office of the chief medical examiner in Burlington, he said.

"I have shared my deepest sympathies with Nicks mother Natalie, and let her know that the thoughts and prayers of the entire Middlebury community are with her, the Garza family, and with Nicks many friends," said Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz.

A "gathering in remembrance" of Garza is being planned, he said.

"May the unity that comes from the terrible sadness we all feel at this time be a source of comfort and strength for the Garza family," said Liebowitz.

http://tinyurl.com/6hechm

[pdh3]

How very sad. I really didn't think he'd be found alive, though, so it's not really surprising. I wonder what happened, and why he was in the creek?
God Bless his family, and comfort them in this very difficult time.






Thanks for the update, btw.

[Peaches]

I was afraid this would have a bad ending.  Thank God law enforcement was able to recover his body.  His poor mother.  Her life will never be the same.  I hope she can remember the wonderful times she had being Nicholas' mom rather than the despair of his being missing for so long.  What an example of a faithful mother, she never gave up looking for her son. 

[Blonde]

Middlebury College Issues Statement on Nicholas Garza

Updated: May 27, 2008 09:31 PM

The search for missing Middlebury College freshman Nicholas Garza ends Tuesday night. According to a Fox 44 News reporter, around 8:40 p.m., rescue crews pulled a body from Otter Creek.

Rescue workers have tentatively identified the body as Nicholas Garza. They found a form of identification on the male body, which was entact, after pulling it out of the creek.

In a statement released late Tuesday night from Middlebury College, President Ronald D. Liebowitz said,

"With sadness, I write to inform you that the Middlebury Police Department, assisted by the Vermont State Police, tonight has recovered the body they believe to be Nicholas Garza."

The Vermont State Police Dive Team, the Colchester Technical Rescue Team, and the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team were called to Otter Creek Tuesday evening to begin recovery operations assisted by the Middlebury Fire Department.

The potential human remains were spotted Tuesday afternoon lodged under sunken timber in a floating pile of debris below the falls in downtown Middlebury.

Natalie Garza, Nicholas' mother was notified when the body was recovered.

http://www.fox44.net/Global/story.as...&nav=menu660_1

[bleachedblack]

I keep thinking how unlikely it would have been for Nicholas Garza to have simply fallen into Otter Creek. I know we have read about the demise of many young men over the recent months that have done just that. It is just a feeling I have, and the only possible way to know any different is if someone from Garza's college comes forward. For some reason this feels to me like  something that started as a prank(for lack of a better term).......maybe college kids not knowing any better,......but I wonder if a couple of other  students, perhaps a some point after a few hours of partying  didn't toss Nicholas Garza into the creek? College fun? harmless right? except in this case it was the middle of winter and Nicholas did not survive. This time the consequences were lethal.  I suppose  speculation is pointless. I hope his family has  peace in finding him and being able to bring him home.

[Nut44x4]

Police officially close missing student case

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Police Department officially closed the Nicholas Garza case Thursday.

The department released a 30-page final report on its investigation into the death of the Middlebury College freshman, who disappeared from campus in February 2008 and whose body was recovered from Otter Creek the following May.

Natalie Garza, Nicholas Garza's mother, reached by cell phone early Thursday evening, said she had not been notified of the department's findings or that the case was closed. She said she had repeatedly felt a lack of respect from the department.

The police department referred questions to Chief Thomas Hanley and Sgt. Michael Christopher. Neither was available for comment Thursday evening.

The cause of death was ruled undetermined, the manner accidental. The report, available on the department Web site, www.middleburypolice.org, goes into detail about Garza's movements the night of the disappearance.

Witnesses reported Garza had been drinking with a friend, claiming each had done 18 shots. Several testified that Garza could hold his liquor and it was difficult to tell when he was drunk, but the effects of alcohol would sometimes hit him all at once.

One described to a private investigator hired by the family how he and Garza once had gotten lost, wandering off campus without realizing it, after drinking.

Dogs tracked Garza's scent to the area of a foot bridge over Otter Creek. The report described how, on the night Garza disappeared, conditions were such that one might not be able to tell where the land ended and the snow-covered creek began in that area.

The autopsy found no signs of violence — no cuts, broken bones or trauma. Long-term immersion in the creek made it impossible to determine if Garza drowned, according to the report, or to determine a blood-alcohol level at the time of death.

An estimate based on how much witnesses said Garza drank indicated his blood-alcohol level could have ranged between 0.24 and 0.33.

The report concluded that there was no information attributing the death to anything other than an accident.

"Until such time as any credible information is received to refute that, this investigation is closed," the report read.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090313/NEWS01/903130371/1002/NEWS01

[Nut44x4]

Police Say Garza Was Binge Drinking
Student's Death Ruled Accidental

updated 1 hour, 14 minutes ago
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Police in Middlebury have closed the book on the death of 19-year-old Nicholas Garza, saying he was severely intoxicated when he disappeared but that there's no evidence of foul play or third-party involvement.

Police Say Garza Was Binge Drinking

The Middlebury College freshman from Albuquerque, N.M., vanished Feb. 5, 2008 during a winter break at the college after leaving Stewart Hall. He was reported missing five days later.

On May 27, 2008, his body was pulled from Otter Creek. The cause of death was never determined because of the condition of the remains.

In a 30-page report outlining the investigation, Middlebury Police said Garza drank at least 18 shots of liquor at the party where he was last seen and that his blood alcohol content was likely .24 or higher.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29663573/