BARRE, Vt. (AP) - On the one-year anniversary of a Black man’s disappearance from a Barre motel, authorities held a press conference Tuesday that they said was to renew awareness of the case in hope of generating new leads and getting people who know more than what they’ve acknowledged to come forward.
At the same time, some activists are demanding that police to call in the FBI and plan to hold a protest in Burlington.
Ralph Jean-Marie, 38, was last seen on April 13, 2020, near the Hollow Inn & Motel where he was living with his girlfriend and did not have his glasses, prescription medications or wallet when he disappeared. He was reported missing by a friend more than 60 hours after he disappeared. The Barre Police Department continues to offer a $5,000 reward for information about his disappearance.
Police have done over 56 interviews, multiple searches including outdoors with dogs, scuba teams and aerial drones, exhausting “a lot of people hours on Ralph’s case,” Bombardier said.
“At this juncture we have no crime scene, we have no body, if in fact Mr. Jean-Marie is deceased, we have no weapon, we have no clear individual motivation to commit harm upon him,” said Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault. Authorities are not any closer to know the truth than they were about a year ago and it’s not for a lack of effort or resolve by law enforcement, he said.
He said that Vermont is a state that’s supposed to be based upon community that respects all lives no matter what their background is, where they come from or what their ties are to the community. He said he hopes people come forward, despite the $5,000 reward, with information about Jean-Marie’s disappearance out of a sense of moral duty.
“Because Mr. Jean-Marie is and was somebody’s son, brother, father. People who may be sitting at home with some information ought to think what would they do, what would they expect someone else to do if it was someone they loved and cared about who was missing,” he said. “The only way we’ll get to the truth is when someone has the courage to come forward, tell the truth and give vital information that’s missing.”
Bombardier said he’s spoken with the FBI and they’ve offered their assistance and he’s waiting to hear back from them on a particular subject.
“We would not hand over the case to the FBI or give the case to the FBI,” he said.
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