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Tony Luzio
Presented By
Bonnie M. Wells
Tony Luzio Jr.
AMW Missing Data File For Tony Luzio Jr
Police Veteran Worries About His Son
Anthony Luzio, Sr. was used to investigating crime. As a 31-year-veteran with the Columbus Police Department in Ohio he has seen his share of crime. He never suspected that he would one day be on the other side of the fence.
Anthony's pride and joy is his 25-year-old son Tony Junior. As a police officer Anthony frequently worried about both of his children. However, Anthony understood that at 25 he had to let Tony be a man.
Though Tony stayed with his parents briefly after he finished college he had recently moved out of his parents' home into his own apartment.
"Because of myprofession, you tend to think the worst has happened," Sgt. Tony Luzio Sr. said. "We certainly hope that's not the case here and that he's just having some issues that we need to deal with," says Anthony Luzio, Sr. I've dealt with this situation in my career numerous times, and always thought that I could feel what people felt," he said. "I just can't explain the pain."
Tony Junior Vanishes After A Party
Tony was last seen at a party on July 4, 2005. On the evening of July 3rd Tony had gone to a friend's house to play some cards. Afterward Tony stopped at a local hangout to meet up with some more friends. At approximately 2:30 a.m. the group went to a party less than one mile from Tony's parents.
Witnesses say they saw Tony leaving the party at around 4 a.m. They assumed he was heading to his apartment though he had given the key to one of his friends. That was the last time that anyone saw Tony.
On July 4th, Tony was supposed to work at The Limited Brands Inc., where he worked third shift as security. However, he never showed. His parents had not heard from that day. Tony's family says that missing work and not being in touch with his parents is extremely out of character for him.
"This is very unlike my son," he said.
Anthony's investigative instincts kicked in and he left home immediately and began searching for his son. When he could not locate him he called the local police department and reported his son missing.
Police Have No Leads
Tony's family says life is not the same since he has been missing.
Police have searched the nearby Scioto River and surrounding wooded areas. They have found no trace of Tony.
Tony had limited funds at the time he disappeared and there has been no activity on his bank account or his cell phone.
"Because of my profession, you tend to think the worst has happened," Sgt. Tony Luzio Sr. said. "We certainly hope that's not the case here and that he's just having some issues that we need to deal with," says Anthony Luzio, Sr. I've dealt with this situation in my career numerous times, and always thought that I could feel what people felt," he said. "I just can't explain the pain."
"We will take care of him, no matter what," said his mother, Carla Luzio. "We just love him so much and we miss him so much, and he needs to come home. Because we're having a hard time going on without him, and we really, really need him. And we need the public's help."
Tony is 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. The Delaware County Sheriff's Office said Luzio was driving a silver four-door 2004 Honda Civic with license plate number DCA 5615. The car has a Bush-Cheney sticker on the rear window.
Tim Miller and volunteers from Texas EquuSearch are off to Ohio to help search for missing Tony Luzio Jr and Ohio State student Brian Shaffer. The two boys from Ohio went missing in rather close proximity to each other; however, there is no connection considered in their two cases.
Tim Miller and TES Volunteer John White prepare to head to Ohio)
NBC 4
Search Teams Find Car At Bottom Of River
POWELL, Ohio
-- A professional search group said it might have made a discovery regarding a Central Ohio man who disappeared more than two years ago.
Equusearch, a Texas based search team, scanned the Scioto River Thursday for any signs of Tony Luzio Jr. or his car, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.
There has been no sign of Luzio or his car since he disappeared about two years ago, Bowersock reported.
According to officials, volunteers used sonar to discover a car that was resting at the bottom of the river.
"From experience I can tell that this is a car," Denis Waters, an Equusearch volunteer said. "We contacted the dive teams and searchers that officially searched this body of water before and they did not see or find this vehicle."
Waters said that there was a chance the car was newly placed into the river or the original search teams missed it.
Officials said volunteers planned to return to the site Friday to remove the car from the bottom of the river.
The search group is also looking for any signs of Brian Shaffer, Bowersock reported. Shaffer, an Ohio State University medical student, disappeared in April 2006 from the North Campus Gateway.
Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for more information.
Crews Searching For Missing Men Find Bone
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Search and recovery teams continued their efforts on Saturday to find two missing Columbus men.
Volunteers with Texas-based organization Equusearch searched Central Ohio on horseback, all-terrain vehicles and on foot for signs of Brian Shaffer and Tony Luzio Jr.
Late Saturday afternoon, volunteers found a bone in a wooded area on the city's east side, NBC 4's Mikaela Hunt reported.
"It was about the size of your forearm," said Diana Downs, a volunteer. "It looked like it had been there for a while."
Downs' partners, two retired police officers serving as volunteers, made the discovery across from Sutherland's Lumber in an area shaded by leaves and overgrowth. The team called Columbus police detectives.
"He said that it could be a deer bone or a human bone, so he took it back to check it out," Downs said.
Shaffer's father said his son had no direct connection with the area where the bone was found.
Shaffer, an Ohio State University medical student, was last seen at the Ugly Tuna Saloona on campus in April 2006.
"We're just checking out all areas that are remote and easily accessible. If somebody would have taken him, whether they murdered him and wanted to dump him someplace, unfortunately. I hope that's not true," said Randy Shaffer, the missing man's father.
Downs said that authorities took the bone to the coroner's office for testing.
Equusearch founder Tim Miller said he won't give up, NBC 4's Matt Alvarez reported.
"Anytime we get called, it's because a parent is in distress, missing a loved one," Miller said. "We promised the families we will do the best we can do."
Teams concentrated on a field near Scioto Darby Creek Road. According to officials, Shaffer's cell phone was last used in the area.
"There's a report that the last (cell phone call) did ping off a tower in this area, so we want to take it serious and eliminate areas," Miller said.
Seth Bendo, a fourth-year OSU medical student and friend of Shaffer, joined the search and recovery efforts.
"Brian was one of the people who I hit it off with at the beginning of medical school," Bendo said. "It's sort of a mixed wish. You want to find something, but you don't want to find something. But nonetheless, we want an answer."
During the search, teams found several areas of interest and restricted access to them. As a precautionary measure, crews will soon call for cadaver dogs.
Teams said the search efforts will resume on Sunday.
"They're starting again at 9 a.m. and they definitely need more people out here. I was actually kind of disappointed today that we didn't have as many people as we thought they would," Downs said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call 614-940-7826.
Page posted/updated: 8-27-07 // BMW
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