George LaForest 45 Missing 4/24/06 NY
Forest rangers scale back search for missing man George LaForest Jr. of Stillwater was reported missing last week after visiting his camp in Indian Lake By LEIGH HORNBECK Wednesday, May 3, 2006 INDIAN LAKE -- Forest rangers are scaling back the search for a Stillwater man missing for more than a week. George J. LaForest Jr., 45, was reported missing by his family last week after he went to his camp in Indian Lake, Hamilton County, and then failed to return to Saratoga for an appointment April 24. According to police, LaForest was upset over family issues and may have been carrying guns. He was last seen April 21 near his camp. His truck was found parked at the end of Benton Road, near the Cedar River. Searchers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, State Police, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, local firefighters and volunteers searched a 25-square-mile area on foot, in kayaks, by helicopter, with dogs and a dive team. Forest Rangers will now make periodic checks of the area. LaForest is 6 feet tall, white and weighs 190 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing dark brown work boots, blue jeans and a dark-colored shirt. Anyone with information that may help find LaForest should call State Police at 897-2000 or the Forest Rangers at 897-1300. http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=477917&category=LIFE&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=5/3/2006

Adirondack searches fail to turn up trace of Saratoga County man Posted: May 2, 2006 INDIAN LAKE, N.Y. Search-and-rescue teams in the Adirondacks have failed to turn up any traces of a Saratoga County man who was last seen nearly two weeks ago. The family of George LaForest of Stillwater reported him missing on April 25th after he failed to show up for work. He was last seen four days earlier at his seasonal residence near the hamlet of Indian Lake in Hamilton County. State Department of Environmental Conservation officials say heavy rains in the days before he was reported missing have washed away any tracks LaForest left behind. LaForest's pickup truck was found parked on a road near a popular fishing spot a few miles from his camp. Search teams used dogs, scuba divers, rafts and a helicopter but didn't find any traces of the man. Officials say scaled-down searches are being conducted this week. http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4847870&nav=2aKD

Thursday, May 04, 2006 — Time: 4:11:50 PM EST Search being scaled back By JACOB RESNECK, Enterprise Staff Writer INDIAN LAKE — Search-and-rescue teams are moving into the second week of their effort to locate a Saratoga County man last seen April 21 at his seasonal residence near the hamlet of Indian Lake. George J. LaForest, of Stillwater, was reported missing by family members on April 25 after he failed to show up for work. By the time his disappearance was reported, about 72 hours had elapsed and heavy rain had hit the region, state Department of Environmental Conservation officials said. “That rain washed out his tracks before we even started looking,” DEC Forest Ranger Lt. Steve Preston said. LaForest’s late-model Chevrolet pickup truck was found parked on Benton Road, near a popular fishing spot a few miles from his camp, DEC officials said. But after days of searching with dogs, dive teams, rafts and a helicopter — not a single trace of LaForest has been found. “We’re told he’s a heavy smoker and we haven’t found a single Winston cigarette butt,” Preston said, referring to LaForest’s preferred cigarette brand. Last week the search effort was relatively large: About 3,774 man hours were logged between Tuesday and Sunday, with search-and-rescue volunteers hailing from Rochester to the Canadian border towns turning up to help. But with no trace found in the 25-square-mile search area, the effort is being scaled back. This week, searchers will recomb the half-mile radius where LaForest’s truck was found, search leader and forest ranger Greg George said. “We’ll make sure that area is completely covered,” George said. “For the amount of time (that’s gone by), it’s really discouraging.” State police investigators have been interviewing friends and family, looking for clues into the man’s apparent disappearance. In the past 13 years, two other people have seemingly vanished in the Adirondacks, DEC officials said. In 2000, Harriet Olsen wandered away from her house on Fletcher Farm Road in the town of Franklin and was never found. In 1993, hiker Tom Carlton disappeared near Indian Pass in the High Peaks Wilderness Area, and searchers were unable to locate him. http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=2452

Saturday, May 06, 2006 2:03:51 AM EST Search scaled back further State Department of Envi-ronmental Conservation forest rangers have further scaled back their search for a Saratoga County man last seen April 21 near Indian Lake, Lt. Steve Preston said this morning. Searchers have been scouring the woods for George J. LaForest, 45, of Stillwater — reported missing by family members April 25 after he failed to turn up for work. Forest rangers, state police and volunteers from central and northeastern New York searched by land, air and sea over a 25-square-mile area near the Cedar River last week but have yet to find any trace of the man. “We’ve scaled back quite a bit; we haven’t found any clues,” Preston said. The effort is down to eight forest rangers who will be recombing the immediate area where LaForest’s pickup truck was discovered near a popular fishing and swimming spot on Benton Road. —Jacob Resneck http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=2473

Project Jason Profile: Missing Person: George LaForest Date of Birth: 02/28/1961 Missing Since: 04/21/2006 Missing City: Indian Lake Missing State: New York Age at time of disappearance: 45 Gender: Male Race: White Height: 5ft 11 in Weight: 190 lbs Hair Color: Dark brown Hair (other): May have a mustache Eye Color: Hazel Complexion: Ruddy Characteristics: Scar on right dorsal aspect of hand, mole on back Clothing: Jeans, dark blue shirt and work boots Circumstances: Last seen on the afternoon of 4/21/06 at approximately 1:30. Did not show up for a scheduled meeting on 4/24/06 and his truck was located at an unpopulated dead end next to the Cedar River on 4/25/06. His wallet, cell phones, atm cards, and credit cards were in the vehicle. He is a heavy smoker of Winston cigarettes. He is an expert carpenter and likes to hunt, fish and snowmobile. Agency Name: New York State Police Agency Phone: 518-897-2000 Case Number: 06-170 Print a Poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_GeorgeLaForest.pdf Information from the Charley Project: LaForest was last seen on April 21, 2006 in the vicinity of Indian Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. He has never been heard from again. He was reported missing on April 25 after he did not report to work and missed a scheduled meeting. LaForest's truck was found in the parking area by the Cedar River, which is popular with swimmers and fishermen, after his disappearance. He is an avid outdoorsman and was very familiar with the area. A can of worms was found inside LaForest's vehicle. An extensive search of the surrounding terrain turned up no indications of his whereabouts, however. At the time of his disappearance, LaForest resided in Stillwater, New York. His case remains unsolved. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/laforest_george.html

Family members hold out hope for missing loved ones Monday, April 7, 2008 By Cari Scribner (Contact) Gazette Reporter ALBANY — More than one person in the crowd of about 150 held a box of Kleenex on their lap, dabbing at their eyes while listening to presentations in the Huxley Theater at the New York State Museum Sunday. Outside in the lobby, while small children held their parents’ hands and shrieked over the museum displays of planets, fish and birds, card tables bearing T-shirts, buttons, brochures and wedding photos stood as silent testament to New Yorkers gone missing. “Our Mommy is Still Missing,” was screen- printed on one shirt, accompanied by hand-scrawled letters from the children of Audrey May Herron of Catskill, missing since Aug. 29, 2002. “Where is George LaForest?” was emblazoned on dozens of posters at a nearby table, looking for any clues to the disappearance of LaForest, who vanished April 21, 2006, in Indian Lake. Many of the tables displayed Web site addresses for more information, most starting with the letters www...... There was also a booth for parents to have child identification cards made for young ones, who inked their thumbprints and smiled for the camera without any notion of the serious nature of the photo cards. Kim Huskie of East Greenbush had cards made for her son, Jacob Evans, 5, and daughter Sierra Huskie, 15. “I feel better having this information on record,” Kim Huskie said. “It’s heartbreaking to think about. When I was little, we went anywhere; we walked to school and to the park, we didn’t give it a second thought. We live in different times today.” The annual New York State Missing Persons Day is held every year on April 6, coinciding with the birth date of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared 10 years ago while a student at the University at Albany. The daughter of Doug and Mary Lyall of Ballston Spa, Suzanne’s parents established the Center for HOPE (Healing Our Painful Emotions) eight years ago in their living room. Since then, they’ve been the guiding force behind generating more avenues for getting the names and faces of missing people out in the public eye, pushing for tougher legislation, particularly around school campuses, and bringing families and friends together for comfort. “There is tremendous strength and support we gain just from being in the same shoes,” Doug Lyall said. “There’s a uniqueness of this ambiguous loss we are faced with; we can describe it to others but not make them understand.” According to the New York Sheriff’s Association, there are 3,500 missing persons in New York state, with 1,400 over the age of 18. U.S. Rep. Kristen Gillibrand told the audience she willl continue working to promote safety measures for older students. “We have many laws protecting children, but on any given day there are thousands of adults missing, and many are college-age women,” said Gillibrand. “People need to know it happens on college campuses frequently. I thank the Lyalls from the bottom of my heart for working to educate people. Most families never get beyond the kind of tragedy they’ve seen.” http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/apr/07/0407_/

Woman denied funds from missing husband's estate By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer Last updated: 3:37 p.m., Saturday, January 31, 2009 BALLSTON SPA - A Stillwater woman who has petitioned the Saratoga County Surrogate's Court for child support from her husband's estate after he disappeared nearly three years ago has been denied the money again. Cindy LaForest, who has sons ages 12 and 15, relies on social services to pay her rent and food stamps to buy food because she has a chronic medical condition and can't work. Although the law guardian for both her sons and her missing husband, George LaForest, asked Surrogate's Court Judge Harry Seibert to grant her child support, he denied the request without explanation. George LaForest vanished during a solo fishing trip in the Adirondacks in April 2006. Before his disappearance, Cindy LaForest had been granted child support in the county Family Court. But Judge Seibert, who assumed jurisdiction in the case because George LaForest was missing, overruled the Family Court action. Cindy LaForest was appointed temporary administrator of her husband's estate and sold the couple's Colonial Road home in September 2007. She was allowed to keep half the proceeds of the sale, which she has since spent on legal fees and rent. The rest, about $30,000, was set aside for George LaForest. Without child support, Cindy LaForest said she has $84 a month to live on and to pay her utility bill. She does not own a car. In April, LaForest may file a petition to have her husband declared dead so her sons could be eligible for Social Security payments. She is not optimistic because Judge Seibert will decide the case. The judge, through his staff, refused to take questions for this story. http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=765627