JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After two days searching woods and ponds near Baldwin for a Catholic priest missing for a week under suspicious circumstances, Jacksonville police discontinued their large-scale efforts Sunday evening.
Father Rene Robert disappeared from St. Johns County on April 10 and missed appointments the next day. His wrecked car with weapons inside and a man believed connected to the priest's disappearance were found Wednesday in Aiken, South Carolina.
Police said a multi-jurisdictional investigation and efforts to locate Father Rene will continue until he is found.
The community group that created the Facebook group Pray4ReneRobert had scheduled to join the search for the missing priest in Baldwin on Sunday afternoon, but called it off at the request of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
"We appreciate all of the local support and offers for assistance, at this time, we are not asking for citizens' or outside private agencies' assistance in the search efforts," JSO Public Information Officer Christian Hancock said.
Jacksonville police and firefighters and St. Johns County deputies were back Sunday searching the area between I-10 and Beaver Street between I-295 and Baldwin.
"The worst case scenario is something did happen to him. Hopefully they are able to find him and are able to bury him to rest," said Julius Stoker, who lives in the area.
Much of the area is wooded and rural with a lot of ponds, so authorities are asking people who live in the area to check their property for signs of disturbed ground or anything else suspicious.
News4Jax crime analyst Gil Smith said it might impede a police search if people go beyond their property lines and start searching on their own without training.
"This is a long area to search, so that is why they are asking people to search their own property. That could cut the search down and they're not calling in for manpower and citizens to search," Smith said. "But I do not know if they set up a certain grid and checked off certain places off of their list. Right now they do not want citizens to do that. They do not do that very often unless there is a group of citizens who have been trained in searching because sometimes people could damage evidence not knowing that it is evidence. So they want to make sure that nothing gets disturbed or damaged that could deter their search efforts."
Police use search grids in some high-profile missing persons cases, but Smith points out that while the search area for Robert is large, it’s not nearly as much land mass as crews had to cover in the search in the six-month search for missing toddler Lonzie Barton.
"The search may be scaled back after a few days, but it really depends on how much manpower they have and how much evidence they have and what type of lead they're actually working with," Smith said. "If he was left somewhere ... after a couple of days someone could survive that, even without food or water. Now we are looking at a week, and if no one is there to assist him or feed him, the chance of survival could become very slim."
Anyone who notices something suspicious on or around their property is asked to call police. Don’t disturb it because it can affect evidence.
Also, although police have already recovered it, anyone who saw the priest’s 2012 blue Toyota Corolla in that area last Sunday is also asked to call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at 904-824-8304, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 877-277-TIPS.