CLEARFIELD – An ongoing missing person investigation has been upgraded to that of a homicide, according to Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr.
Ronald Bruce Ford Jr., 40, of San Diego, Calif. was reported missing by family to the Pennsylvania State Police in February after he’d failed to contact them. Ford was last seen between 11 p.m. Feb. 21 and 11 a.m. Feb. 22.
An intense investigation into the missing person report led to the state police’s recovery of human remains Monday in a wooded area located off of Rolling Stone Road in Covington Township. Although positive identification is expected in the immediate future, Ford’s family has been notified of the state police’s recovery, said Shaw.
Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, chairman of the Department of Applied and Forensic Sciences at Mercyhurst College and his team of 30 people surveyed the scene Monday and recovered evidence. Although he declined to identify any of the items collected from the scene, Shaw said multiple search warrants were served Tuesday in Clearfield and Centre counties to seek evidence to support criminal charges.
According to Shaw, this investigation has involved several police agencies. He said those assisting in this investigation include the Pennsylvania State Police at Clearfield and Rockview and members of the Troop C Vice Unit, agents of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics and the Clearfield County Drug Task Force.
“This is most likely a specific issue event,” said Shaw. However, he encourages citizens in the Rolling Stone Road area to exercise personal judgment regarding their safety. “Many, many officers are working on this case, and I am hopeful that criminal charges will be filed in the near future.”
Shaw thanked all of the police agencies that have been assisting with the investigation.
Anyone with knowledge of the investigation is asked to call the Pennsylvania State Police at 814-857-3800 or Clearfield County Crime Stoppers at 800-376-4700. All calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by visiting the Clearfield County District Attorney Web site at “www.ClearfieldDA.org” and selecting “Report A Crime.”