July 19, 2012

Missing man probe continues
By DENISE A. RAYMO, Press-Republican
Press-Republican The Press Republican Thu Jul 19, 2012, 06:20 AM EDT

CHATEAUGAY — It will take several days for State Police to excavate portions of a 3-acre property behind 12 White St. as part of a missing-persons investigation.

Dale Jarvis Sr., 48, was last seen Feb. 20, but the probe into his whereabouts did not begin until recently, when “BCI became aware of a potential missing person and initiated an investigation,” according to State Police Troop B Criminal Bureau of Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain.

Jarvis had lived in the home just off Route 11 in the Village of Chateaugay since 1988 and sometimes shared it with his son, Dale Jr., known as D.J.

The missing man, who is also known as “Cookie Joe” or Stephen Dale Jarvis, also has a teenage daughter, Christina, who lives in Constable.

Allen Jarvis of Churubusco, an older brother of Dale’s, said the teen had reported her dad missing in April, but LaFountain would not comment on that.

SEARCH DOGS

Tully, a cadaver-detection dog handled by Trooper Kevin Beattie, was unleashed to begin her work in the backyard of the property about noon Wednesday after Kelley, a K-9 handled by Trooper Matthew Ross, had made an initial 20-minute search earlier in the day.

The K-9 sweeps were performed before heavy equipment was brought in to begin digging up the yard and portions of a large vacant parcel that Dale owns adjacent to the rear of his house.

At the same time, investigators with the State Police Forensic Investigation Unit were mapping and measuring the property and processing a burgundy Dodge Caravan recently towed to the home and parked nearby.

LaFountain said a search warrant issued Tuesday by Franklin County Court Judge Robert Main Jr. covers evidence collected from “the premises and anything associated with the whereabouts of Mr. Jarvis.”

An investigator was seen carrying several weighty red evidence bags through the front door of the home.

Yellow crime-scene tape flapped in the breeze, roping off a good portion of the Jarvis property, as well as part of the front yard at 14 White St. situated to the right of the Jarvis garage and an old pickup truck parked there.

ESTRANGED

All of this activity was watched for several hours by Allen and Maynard Jarvis, father of the missing man, and Allen Jarvis of Churubusco.

They stood across the street from the property, talking about the last time they saw or heard from him.

Allen saw his brother a few weeks after Christmas for a few minutes when the two bumped into each other at a Chateaugay convenience store.

Maynard said that, following the death of his wife, Bertha, he and Dale had been estranged for three or four years, so he didn’t know much about what was going on in his son’s life lately.

He said Dale had worked construction on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation for a time and made money more recently by removing troublesome trees from farmers’ fields in exchange for the wood he could harvest.

He said Dale had disappeared for several months in 2007 and was found to have been out of town, working.

D.J. LAST TO SEE HIM

Maynard said his grandson D.J. was living at the house with Dale and was apparently the last one to see him.

D.J. had told Maynard that a man came to their door about midnight on Feb. 20, asking to speak to Dale in private. The two went out to the garage and were there about an hour, D.J. told Maynard.

D.J. said that when his dad came out, he handed him the keys to his vehicle and his cellphone and said he was leaving with the visitor. D.J. told his grandfather that Dale said, “‘If I don’t call or see you in a few days, I guess I won’t be back.’ He said he was heading south, and when D.J. asked him where, he said, ‘I can’t tell you.’

“Then he got into a car with the other man and drove off. When he got to the end of the street, we don’t know if he went left or right.”

Maynard said D.J. told him Dale instructed him not to file a missing-persons report if he didn’t return.

“D.J. said he didn’t report it because he thought (Dale) would be back in two or three months,” Maynard said. “But when you’ve got no money and no vehicle and you get into a car with someone else, you have to do what the other guy wants. I just don’t know.”

IN JAIL

D.J. was arrested Tuesday night, charged with felony criminal contempt, apparently not related to the missing-person case. Bail was set at $50,000 with no bond. He remained in Franklin County Jail on Wednesday.

The Jarvis home, third on the right from Route 11 and one of five or six houses on the dead-end street, is sided with particle board, with a roof that is part metal and part tar paper. It was initially a camper trailer to which a number of additions and rooms were added, Allen said.

He said D.J. was removing dirt from under the home by the bucket full to enlarge a crawl space underneath so he could shore up the sagging floor.

Allen said his nephew told him he was also repainting the interior of the home to cover stains caused by his dad’s poor housekeeping and was fixing the house up so someone could move in with him.

The front yard is fenced about 4 feet high with chicken wire that Dale had installed to pen his golden retriever. The dog is now being cared for by another relative.

Sitting to the north of the house is a backhoe that belongs to Maynard, and an adjacent lot holds piles of logs from trees Dale had cut.

Investigators measured and documented the area around the wood as well as the interior and exterior of the backhoe.

“We’re executing a search warrant for however long it’s going to take us,” said Bureau of Criminal Investigation Lt. Brent Davison. “We can’t rule out anything at this point.”

Dale Jarvis is Caucasian, 5-foot-9-inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He has brown hair, blue eyes and a burn scar that runs from his right forearm halfway to his shoulder.

Email Denise A. Raymo: draymo@pressrepublican.com


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http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x9840...-of-missing-man
July 18, 2012

Canine unit searching property of missing man
By DENISE RAYMO, Press-Republican
Press-Republican The Press Republican Wed Jul 18, 2012, 12:06 PM EDT

CHATEAUGAY — A State Police cadaver dog has been called in to search Dale Jarvis Sr.'s property at 12 White St.

That's where the man, 48, was last seen on Feb. 20.

Earlier Wednesday, another canine search unit was ranging around the property, and investigators from the State Police Troop B Forensic Unit were also there, processing and measuring a burgundy Dodge Caravan van recently towed to the home.

A search warrant was issued to authorities for the property on Tuesday by Franklin County Judge Robert Main Jr. Troop B Criminal Bureau of Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain said no missing persons report had been issued for Jarvis but police had launched an investigation after information had come to light that he had disappeared.

Shortly before noon Wednesday, LaFountain said the cadaver canine would search the 3-acre property and then an area behind the house would be excavated by heavy machinery.


LATE-NIGHT VISIT

Maynard Jarvis, father of the missing man, and an elder brother, Allen, stood across the street from the property, talking about the last time they saw or heard anything about Dale.

Maynard said they had been estranged for three or four years, so they hadn't talked much.

He said his grandson, Dale Jarvis Jr., who they call D.J., was living with his father and was apparently the last one to see him. Maynard said that his grandson had said a man came to door at midnight on Feb 20, asking to speak to Dale in private. They went to the garage, Maynard said D.J. had recounted, and were gone about an hour. Then Dale came back in, handed D.J. his keys and his cellphone and said that he was going to be leaving with the man, that they were heading south.

"He said, 'If I don't call or see you in a few days, I guess I won't be back,'" Maynard repeated what he said D.J. had told him.

"When he got to the end of the street," he added, "we don't know if he went left or right."

Maynard said D.J. also said to him his father had told him not to file a missing persons report on him if he didn't return.

Allen said Tuesday that Dale's daughter, Christina, in April had notified police that her father was missing; LaFountain said he couldn't comment on that.


SON JAILED TUESDAY

D.J. was arrested Tuesday night, charged with felony criminal contempt. Bail was set at $50,000, no bond. He remained in Franklin County Jail Wednesday morning.

The Jarvis home, third on the right from Route 11 and one of five or six houses on the dead-end street, is sided with particle board with a roof that is part metal and part tar paper. The front yard is fenced about 4 feet high with chicken wire that Dale installed to keep his golden retriever from scaring the mail carrier, Maynard said.

Sitting to the north of the house is a backhoe that belongs to Maynard, and an adjacent lot there holds piles of logs from trees Dale cut from farm fields to earn money in the summertime, he said.

Yellow crime-scene tape is strung around the home, the lot next to it and across a second driveway between 12 and 14 White Street where a beat-up pickup truck is parked in front of the garage.

Maynard said he gave the vehicle to D.J.

"We're executing a search warrant for however long it's going to take us," said State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Lt. Brent Davison at the property shortly before 11:30 a.m. "We can't rule out anything at this point."

Dale is Caucasian, 5-foot-9-inches tall, weighs 200 pounds, has brown hair, blue eyes and a burn scar that runs from his right forearm half way to his shoulder.

He also goes by the names "Cookie Joe" Jarvis and Stephen Dale Jarvis.

More details will be added to this story as they become available today.


Email Denise Raymo:

draymo@pressrepublican.com

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article...199921/0/NEWS05
Search for missing Franklin County man intensifies
By ANDY GARDNER
THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Dale S. Jarvis Sr.
Dale S. Jarvis Sr.
SEARCH FOR CLUES - Above, three members of the state police Troop B Forensic Investigation Unit sift through earth for clues as to what happened to Dale S. Jarvis Sr., 48. He mysteriously disappeared in February and has not been heard from since. (Gardner Photo)
PRESS CONFERENCE - State police Troop B Commander Maj. Richard Smith addresses the media at the 14 White Street, Chateaugay home of Dale S. Jarvis Sr., who has been missing for months. The investigation was turned up a notch that day, as forensic investigators began digging in the ground for clues. (Gardner Photo)ARTICLE OPTIONS
A A Dale S. Jarvis Sr.
CHATEAUGAY - The search for a Chateaugay man missing for almost six months intensified Wednesday.

The New York State Police Troop B Forensic Investigation Unit was digging on the 14 White St. property of Dale S. Jarvis Sr., 48, who has been missing since about Feb. 20. No missing persons report was ever filed.

Although the case is still officially a missing persons investigation, state police on scene indicated the digging is unusual for a typical missing persons case.

“It’s a search for the truth,” Troop B Commander Maj. Richard Smith said at the scene on Wednesday. “At this point, we’re not sure what we’re going to find here, if anything, and anything that we do find, we hope will lead us to the whereabouts of Mr. Jarvis.”

Police have not released information as to the last known contact with Jarvis Sr. His father, Maynard Jarvis of Chateaugay, said Jarvis Sr.’s son Dale “DJ” Jarvis Jr. claims to have been one of the last people, or possibly the last person, to see Jarvis Sr. alive.

Maynard Jarvis said Jarvis Jr. told him on a night in February, a vehicle pulled up the house and Jarvis Sr. went to speak with the occupants. He said Jarvis Jr. told him Jarvis Sr. came back inside, handed him his keys and cell phone and said he was “going south.” Maynard Jarvis said it was not unusual for Jarvis Sr. to disappear for long periods of time. He said the last time Jarvis Sr. disappeared was for over a year and when he called the police to report his son missing Jarvis Sr. disowned him and they have not spoken since. Maynard Jarvis said this happened several years ago.

Jarvis Jr. was unavailable for comment Wednesday. He was ordered held in the Franklin County Jail Tuesday night on a felony charge of first-degree criminal contempt in lieu of $50,000 bail. Maynard Jarvis said the arrest stemmed from a domestic incident.

Although Maj. Smith did not talk specifics, he did say he believes the disappearance was unreported because of an incident where a family member had voluntarily left the area and another family member who reported the disappearance was ostracized by the one who disappeared.

Jarvis Sr.’s brother, Allen Jarvis of Churubusco, said his brother worked construction, would typically leave a job for an extended period of time and make no contact with family. He said he believes Jarvis Sr. was working for a contractor who operates out of Akwesasne, but was not sure who it was.

Wednesday’s efforts included sending in cadaver and narcotic-sniffing dogs. Police were later digging in the area behind the house. Teams of two forensic investigators each could be seen sifting through dirt dug up from behind the house. Around 3:30 p.m., a backhoe went in to dig more.

Although police have been mum as to their findings, Allen Jarvis offered some insight at the scene as to what could be buried behind the house. He claims in the days after Jarvis Sr.’s disappearance Jarvis Jr. dug a hole and buried his father’s bed.

“DJ said he buried the box spring and mattress under the garden with a backhoe,” Allen Jarvis said, indicating that police were digging in that area. “Really, something’s going on.”

There was a backhoe on the property that was moved to a separate area and cordoned off with yellow police tape. Police on-scene appeared to be preparing the area for forensic investigation.

Allen Jarvis added that Jarvis Sr. dug out four feet of dirt to deepen a crawl space beneath the house, but did not say why.

“We didn’t think too much of it,” Allen Jarvis said.

Investigators appeared to be concentrating part of their efforts on the crawl space.

“We could be here for days,” Maj. Smith said Wednesday. “We’re prepared to do whatever we have to do to search that entire parcel of three acres… for any clues as to the whereabouts of Mr. Jarvis.”

Maj. Smith said state police have been looking for Jarvis for about three weeks and their investigation led them to obtain a search warrant for the White Street house Tuesday. The warrant was issued by County Court Judge Robert G. Main Jr.

“Approximately three weeks ago, we received some information from a confidential source that Mr. Jarvis was potentially missing, had been missing, and not seen by his family since February and that led us to open a missing persons case,” Maj. Smith said, adding that he does not know exactly what motivated the source to come forward.

Jarvis Sr. is described as a 5’9” white male weighing 200 lbs. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and a burn scar on his right arm that runs from his forearm to halfway up his shoulder. He also goes by Stephen Dale Jarvis and Cookie Joe.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the New York State Police at (518) 483-5000. Tips can also be sent via email to nysvicap@troopers.ny.gov.

Press-Republican
July 18, 2012
Local man missing; last seen Feb. 20
Home of missing Chateaugay man searched; family worried
By FELICIA KRIEG, Contributing Writer
Press-Republican

---- — CHATEAUGAY — Attention has centered on the home of a Chateaugay man who hasn’t been seen for months.

No one reported Dale S. Jarvis Sr. missing, said Troop B Bureau of Criminal Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain.

But that information had come to light, and police launched an investigation. Tuesday, with a warrant obtained from Franklin County Court Judge Robert G. Main Jr., the Troop B Forensic Identification Unit began searching Jarvis’s home at 14 White St.

LaFountain didn’t say whether they feared for Jarvis’s safety.

“The only thing we’re indicating at this point is we’re investigating a missing person.”

LEFT PHONE, TRUCK

Allen Jarvis, 57, of Churubusco, said in a phone interview on Tuesday that his brother, who is 48, has been missing since the third week in February, and he has no idea where he could be.

“No one has heard anything,” he said. “It’s kind of fishy in a way.”

Dale’s son Dale “T.J.” Jarvis Jr. was the last to see him, Allen said.

“He (Dale) said, ‘Here’s all my stuff’ and took off,’” he said.

He said Dale left his cellphone and the keys to his pickup truck, which was not working, with his son.

Dale’s daughter, Christina Jarvis, 17, did report her father missing in April, Allen said.

He said she and her family weren’t worried at first because they assumed Dale had taken a job somewhere where he couldn’t call them.

“But I think it’s past that point.”

Dale had left for jobs in Saranac Lake and elsewhere in the area the past, Allen said, gone for a month or two and calling once every two weeks.

“She had been trying to get a hold of him for quite awhile on her own,” Allen said of Christina.

‘VERY WORRIED’

Allen described his brother, the youngest of seven, as easygoing.

“He’s really not the type of guy that would get in trouble.”

Dale’s extended family is very worried about him, Allen said.

Their father, Maynard Jarvis of Chateaugay, is distressed over Dale’s disappearance.

“I can tell it bothers him,” Allen said. “He wakes up every night.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about it.”

Jarvis, last seen Feb. 20, is Caucasian, 5-foot-9-inches tall, weighs 200 pounds, has brown hair, blue eyes and a burn scar that runs from his right forearm half way to his shoulder.

He also goes by the names “Cookie Joe” Jarvis and Stephen Dale Jarvis.

Anyone with information about Jarvis is asked to contact Malone-based State Police at 483-5000.

— News Editor Suzanne Moore contributed to this report.
http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x1301...-searched/print

17 July 2012
State Police in Malone Investigating Missing Chateaugay Man

NEW YORK STATE POLICE
Major Richard Smith
Troop B Commander



PRESS RELEASE

The New York State Police are currently investigating a Missing Person case involving Dale S. Jarvis Sr, 48, of Chateaugay, New York. Jarvis was never reported missing, but an investigation was commenced after New York State Police developed information that he had not been seen for several months.

As a result of the investigation, the New York State Police obtained a search warrant, issued by the Honorable Robert G. Main Jr, Franklin County Court Judge, for Jarvis' residence and premises located at 14 White Street, Chateaugay, New York. The scene was secured and a search is underway at that location by the Troop B Forensic Identification Unit.

Anyone with information concerning Dale Jarvis Sr is asked to contact the New York State Police at 518-483-5000.
https://www.nyspnews.com/article_display.cf...rticle_id=26250

State police: Remains tentatively identified as missing Chateaugay man

By ANDY GARDNER

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

CHATEAUGAY - State police announced Tuesday that the human remains that were discovered last week buried behind a residence at 14 White St., Chateaugay, have been tentatively identified as those of Dale S. Jarvis Sr, 48.

Full positive identification is “pending further forensic comparison,” according to a state police news release.

Franklin County Coroner Brian Langdon officially ruled Mr. Jarvis Sr.’s death a homicide.

Officials are not yet releasing the cause of death.

“Because of the nature of the ongoing investigation, we are not releasing further information at this time,” District Attorney Derek Champagne said Tuesday.

Mr. Jarvis Sr. was the subject of a missing persons case until Thursday, when state police Troop B Commander Maj. Richard Smith announced that it was being shifted to a homicide investigation. Police had been seeking Mr. Jarvis Sr. for about three weeks, Maj. Smith said last week.

Officials have not yet stated if there is a suspect or suspects.

The Troop B Forensic Investigation Unit located the body buried in an area behind Mr. Jarvis Sr.’s house that Maj. Smith said a witness pointed them toward, claiming in a deposition that the earth had been disturbed in recent months. Mr. Jarvis Sr.’s brother, Allen Jarvis of Churubusco, said last week Dale Jarvis Jr. told him he buried his father’s mattress and box spring in the area where the body was found in the weeks after Mr. Jarvis Sr. vanished, but said he isn’t sure why.

“DJ said he buried the box spring and mattress under the garden with a backhoe,” Allen Jarvis said last week. “Really, something’s going on.”

Maj. Smith said troopers opened the case after developing information from a confidential informant that Mr. Jarvis Sr. mysteriously vanished in February and had not been seen or heard from since. Maj. Smith said the confidential informant and the witness that pointed them to excavate the garden are two different people.

Mr. Jarvis Sr.’s father, Maynard Jarvis of Chateaugay, said Jarvis Jr. told him on a night in February, a vehicle pulled up the house and his father went to speak with the occupants. He said Jarvis Jr. told him Mr. Jarvis Sr. came back inside, handed him his keys and cell phone and said he was “going south.” Maynard Jarvis also said that it was not unusual for his son to disappear for weeks or months at a time with no word.

Members of the Jarvis family could not be reached for comment.

The case is being investigated by the New York State Police and the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article...DCO01/707259913

Dale Jarvis Junior Pleaded Guilty to 1st Degree Manslaughter Tuesday


Posted: Sep 11, 2012 12:13 PM EDT Updated: Sep 25, 2012 1:29 PM EDT

By Joe Gullo - email

Dale Jarvis Jr. pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 1st degree Tuesday.

FOX44 and ABC22 reporter Jenny Day reports that Jarvis Jr., 24, used a sledge hammer to hit his dad, Dale Jarvis Sr., 48, in the back of the head. They were both fighting the night he was killed.

He is facing 5 to 25 years.

Derek Champagne, Franklin County District Attorney, says this was the fastest resolution of a homicide he's ever seen.

Jarvis gave at least 5 different versions of what happened to his dad.

He was originally being charged with 2nd degree murder.
http://www.fox44abc22yourvoice.com/story/1...aughter-tuesday