Garza search switches gears, reward offered
By MEGAN JAMES
MIDDLEBURY — Less than a week since the Middlebury Police Department invited the Texas search and rescue squad EquuSearch to join the ground search for missing Middlebury College freshman Nicholas Garza, the effort was called off until the snow pack melts.
In the meantime, Middlebury authorities have expanded the missing person investigation, according to police Chief Tom Hanley, and an outside group is offering a reward for information leading to Garza’s discovery.
In an effort to better understand the 19-year-old’s frame of mind on Feb. 5 — the night he went missing — the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit has joined the investigation. Using information Middlebury investigators gathered from people who knew Garza, the unit will build a psychological profile that could shed light on decisions the student might have made that night.
“With the FBI, we try to get inside Nicholas’ head,” Hanley said.
Behavioral analyses like this one are usually employed to locate criminals, Hanley said. When investigators understand how a criminal’s brain works, they can determine what he might have done or where he might have gone.
Hanley said the FBI showed considerable interest in the Garza case and they believe the process could shed some light on Garza’s whereabouts.
The behavioral analysis will come at no cost to the Middlebury Police Department, since the unit uses these cases to validate their data, Hanley said. But the Garza investigation is taking a toll on the department’s resources in other ways.
Currently, three Middlebury officers are working on the case, while another is on a Vermont Air Guard deployment.
“That leaves us a grand total of six officers left (to handle other matters),” Hanley said.
Next week, Hanley plans to supplement the staff with two more investigators, which will be contracted from another department.
“Some of the things we want to do (with the investigation) are very time consuming,” he said. “The other two people will help us do some long-term legwork.”
When the snow melts, the Vermont State Police will return to comb over the Middlebury campus once again, and EquuSearch will reassess the situation and determine whether it can contribute to the search.
The Middlebury College departments of Public Safety and Facilities Services recently completed another search of the buildings and roofs on campus, but found nothing.
Together with the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation, Natalie Garza — Nicholas’ mother who has been living in college housing since she flew in from her hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., on Feb. 11 — is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of her son.
In the event that Garza was murdered, the reward will be payable for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the crime.
The Addison Independent
58 Maple Street
P.O. Box 31
Middlebury, VT 05753
802-388-4944
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location
Previously, someone submitted a "psychic impression" of an arch. Adding to this,
is there an arch - or a stone wall - near the South part of campus? Is there such
an arch or wall where the cemetery meets the campus edge? Is there an area otherwise
known as the South Bend? Also, is there a drug issue here that is not being revealed?
Garza search
I have read all about the search for Nick and it all seems to take place on the college campus property. Has anyone thought of branching the search out, like the abandoned house on rt 125, the apple stand, the old barns along route 125 and Cider Mill road? If he was taken from his room and dropped off somewhere he could have tried to find shelter in these kinds of places. I find myself looking along the roadways when I go for a drive just to see if I could see something that would help find him. I pray for his family that this is solved for their peace of mind..
Garza search
I have read all about the search for Nick and it all seems to take place on the college campus property. Has anyone thought of branching the search out, like the abandoned house on rt 125, the apple stand, the old barns along route 125 and Cider Mill road? If he was taken from his room and dropped off somewhere he could have tried to find shelter in these kinds of places. I find myself looking along the roadways when I go for a drive just to see if I could see something that would help find him. I pray for his family that this is solved for their peace of mind..
I wonder if the search would
I wonder if the search would be as intense if it was a local person who was missing. Judging by past efforts, the college student is getting preferential treatment as is often the case in Middlebury.
Preferential treatment
Preferential treatment, I think not. Nicholas is from a different state, doesn't know his way around in your turf. A mother and brother in desperate need to find their loved one. Just be glad, it's not your family.
someone knows something!!!!!
I also think maybe there is a drug problem here that know one is picking up on . Was this a drug related thing? I hope and pray that they find him, I can't get over how this stuff happenes right around our areas. michelle gardner quinn and lots other and now nick. I hope that he is found and that he is well and the people responsible for this gets caught!!
I cannot believe...
you would say this. Be very glad it is not your loved one. What a horrible, horrible thing to say. Shame on you.
dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/missing
dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/missing/
is true college kids get more effort
Natalie Garza
What horrible reporting...Middlebury Police did NOT invite Texas Equusearch, they tried to prevent them from coming down. The family called Tim Miller's group and agreed to come as soon as possible to asses the situation - NOT after the snow melts. Your focus on how much this search is inconveniencing the police departments does very little to help. Very shallow high-school level reporting.
Garza search...
Just to clarify, my concern expressed in my post above is for Nicholas's mother and family and what they are dealing with...it is for that reason I mention her name in the subject line. I read so many conflicting stories on the search and I want to remind everyone that despite the inability of searches and authoriites to find this young man; there always remains a family still searching.