Joe Helt Case: New Developments

What do a New York private investigation firm and a former schoolmate of a missing person have in common? The ability to take a very cold case and make it hot!

In 1987, Joe Helt a senior in high school was out for the evening with his friends Kelly Diaz, Wade Marks and John LaForge. Joe Helt never made it back home. The friends were never interviewed. So it was interesting when a former New York police Lt. Robert Rahn, now a private investigator with Management Resources, Limited of New York was told he was "forbidden" to interview the 3 whom each returned all warm and snug to the beds late that morning.

At a minimum they were a witness to a chain of events whereby, Joe Helt would never again surface. From the "Justice for Joe's facebook page run by former classmate turned missing person advocate, Gina Schuster, she makes an amazing find, the truth in print. Below is a discovery from a 1987 interview:

1987 Times Herald Record articles published in the days after Joe's disappearance, we've uncovered an inconsistency which is HUGE. Something that is going to help us BLOW this case WIDE OPEN from VARIOUS angles!!! And here it is:

Joe was discovered to be missing when he never showed up for his 5pm shift at the Napanoch Auction Barn on Saturday, January 17, 1987. His boss, Vic, called Joe's mother, Lee Ann, after 5pm (closer to 5:30 pm) to ask her where Joe was because he never showed up for work. It was at this time that Lee Ann discovered, after making several calls, that Joe was in fact missing. We have verified the time frame directly with Vic.

NOW HERE'S THE INCONSISTENCY:

In an article printed in the Times Herald Record newspaper from Tuesday, January 20, 1987 entitled "Buddies Join in Search on Ridge" (see below), John LaForge told the reporter, Jo Galante, the following:

"Saturday afternoon, Laforge retrieved his Subaru. At about 3:30pm, Marks called LaForge with the news that Helt hadn't returned home."

"Later, when Helt failed to report to work at the Napanoch Auction Barn, his mother notified Ellenville Village police."

HERE IS THE INCONSISTENCY: HOW COULD WADE POSSIBLY KNOW THAT JOE WAS MISSING ALMOST 2 HOURS BEFORE IT WAS KNOWN THAT JOE WAS ACTUALLY MISSING?!?!?! NO ONE KNEW HE WAS MISSING UNTIL HE FAILED TO SHOW UP FOR WORK LATER THAT NIGHT, AROUND 5-5:30PM!!!!! JP SAID THAT WADE CALLED HIM AT 3:30 PM!!! OOOPS....THEY SLIPPED UP AND IT'S IN PRINT IN THE PAPER!

WORSE YET.....WHY WASN'T THIS EVER DISCOVERED OR INVESTIGATED IN THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION!!! AND HOW COULD THEY EVER SAY THAT THESE THREE WERE NEVER CONSIDERED SUSPECTS WHEN A STATEMENT LIKE THIS EXISTS IN PRINT IN A NEWSPAPER?!?! (an official statement to this effect was given to NBC in Feb. 2011 stating that the 3 were NEVER considered suspects!) THIS SHEDS A HUGE AMOUNT OF DOUBT NOT ONLY ON THE THREE, BUT ON WHAT WAS ACTUALLY DONE IN THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION!

Apparently when the Ellenville detective working the invisable investigation learned Gina had released this information, he was less then thrilled. Perhaps due to the fact lip service was about as far as this case ever went, until recently.

Now, because of the former New York Lt. Robert Rahn, the New York Times is about to run a story about Joe Helt's case. And this is only the tip of the iceberg for this case. Last week I posted the blog after we aired Joe's case on the Roth show:

After the show new information surfaced. In the spirit of this open case and to maintain the integrity of, in my opinion, the invisible investigation, someone's conscious may have finally been relieved after 24 years.It seems in 1987 there was a lot of drug activity, not so much where the boys "say" the car stalled the night Joe Helt vanished, but in an area someplace in Rockland County.

Is is possible that Joe Helt was savagely beaten to death?

Is it possible that a fairly large drug deal went south?

Is it possible Joe Helt paid with his life?

Is it possible politicians and others covered or hushed the case into silence?

Is it possible a then police officer on the case now a chief of police was involved somehow in the drug ring?

Is it possible the now chief of police has knowledge of where Joe Helt might be buried?

Is it possible that one of the boys with Joe Helt that night whose family property was adjacent to where they torched the 17 -year old's body and scattered the bone's on the connecting property?

It seems that the town of Ellenvillle provides many wonderful services to its' community of approximately 4,135 according to last years resident numbers. Investigations don't appear on the list of importance. Maybe it would be if the only person in charge of the criminal hen house didn't have their hands dirtied themselves going back to 1987. Perhaps the US Attorney's or Inspector General's offices requires a visit? Especially when the corruption could be a result of other activities?

To listen to the broadcast of the Roth show go to the link below:

http://www.therothshow.com/demos/recent/hour2Aug0311.mp3

If you have additional information about this case please visit www.nysleuth.com and provide your confidential tip or call 1-800-490-2267.