Boylan, Thomas "Tom' 10/20/09, Montrose, CO Found Deceased

[mimi]

Long time Montrose resident reported missing
The Montrose Police Department is hoping someone might now the whereabouts of an elderly man that has been missing for about a week.

Reporter: KKCO

MONTROSE, Colo. (KKCO) - The Montrose Police Department is hoping someone might now the whereabouts of an elderly man that has been missing for about a week.

Thomas Boylan, 82, was reported missing Thursday. The long time Montrose resident was last seen in a white and blue 1990 Suburban in the 300 block of Pythian Avenue.

Anyone with information on Boylan is asked to call Montrose Police at 970-252–5200
http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/65841737.html

[mimi]

Vehicle

[mimi]

Police, family desperate to find elderly man
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer
Published/Last Modified on Saturday, October 24, 2009 6:45 PM MDT

MONTROSE - Police are urgently seeking an elderly man last seen Oct. 20.

Thomas Boylan, 82, possibly has a form of dementia and is on heart medication, Montrose Police Sgt. Jake Suppes said Saturday.

A neighbor was the last known person to have seen Boylan, and told police Boylan got into his 1990 Chevy Suburban at around 10:30 p.m. Oct. 20 and drove away from his residence in the 300 block of South Pythian Street.
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He has since missed scheduled medical appointments and no one is answering his cell phone, Suppes said.

Police are concerned Boylan, who has hunted in the past, might have driven into the mountains. Because of his access to a vehicle, the missing man could be anywhere, Suppes said.

An additional concern is that Boylan does not like to drive at night because he does not see well.

"We don't have much. We've been checking the area to see if anyone has information. Call us," Suppes said.

"The family is really concerned; we're concerned, and we're kind of running out of options."

Boylan is white, 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 135 pounds, and wears glasses and suspenders. He has a full head of gray hair and brown eyes.

Boylan Colorado license plate number is 540 PCP.

Anyone with information is asked to call (970) 252-4020 or (970) 252-4021 immediately and ask to speak with an officer.
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009...4d894887718.txt

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[mimi]

Thomas Boylan

Oct 25, 2009
Ashley Prchal

A Montrose family frantically searches for their 82 year old father, Tom Boylan.

According to a neighbor, at 10:30 at night on Tuesday, 82 year old Tom Boylan jumped into his 1990 white Chevrolet Suburban. He let the engine heat up for about five minutes. Then he headed north. That was the last time anyone saw him.

The vehicle is white with a light blue strip. The driver door and front fender are both a dark blue. The license plate number is 540-PCP.

Some say Boylan's disappearance could be linked to a case of dementia. But his son, Tommy Boylan, disagrees.

"I don't see him being out of it so much to where he would just forget who he was or where he was or anything like that," says Boylan.

The family hopes that foul play is not that case, but as the days go by that hope is slowly dwindling.

Montrose Police has received tips in the case. Several callers saying they saw a confused elderly man, wearing suspenders, wandering around Wal-Mart.

Boylan is notorious for wearing suspenders. He is about 135 pounds, 5'10 and wears glasses.

The police are waiting for surveillance footage from Wal-Mart, but unfortunately that could take a few more days.

For the Boylan family they are anxious to bring their dad home and ask everyone out their to pray for him

If you have any information on the disappearance of 82 year old Tom Boylan, you are asked to contact Montrose Police at (970) 252-4010
http://www.nbc11news.com/localnews/headlines/65955662.html

[mimi]

Missing man’s family struggles for answers
Boylan’s children pin hopes on someone spotting vehicle

By Katharhynn Heidelberg Daily Press Senior Writer
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 4:11 AM MDT

One week later, Thomas Boylan’s disappearance leaves a mystery, as well as a frantic family, who is hopeful someone has spotted his distinctive vehicle.

Boylan, 82, was last seen at 10:30 p.m. Oct. 20, leaving his home in the 300 block of South Pythian in his 1990 Chevy Suburban, Colorado license plate number 540 PCP. (See photo).

He is now the subject of a senior alert, issued by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Monday morning at the request of the Montrose Police Department.
Boylan’s 1990 GMC Surburban

The MPD has two investigators assigned, but does not suspect foul play. His family’s not so sure.

“It’s so out of character for him,” daughter Ann Boylan said Monday. “He stays home. He gets Meals on Wheels. He wants to be there for that. I can’t imagine him driving off into the mountains or something like that. I just don’t know what happened.”

She said her father is a “homebody” who does not go out at night because, as police earlier said, he does not see well at night.

However, Tom Boylan is a generous and helpful man, his children said. They are concerned he might have offered to help the wrong person this time around.

They cannot think of another reason why he’d leave his home late at night, likely wearing only a threadbare yellow jacket. Penny-conscious, he would not have left the lights on, unless he planned to come back soon. And he wouldn’t have left behind his heart medication or his cane, the family said.

“He never goes out at night, ever, not in many years,” his daughter Jeanne Boylan, a forensic investigator, said. She is currently working outside of the country and communicated with the Daily Press via e-mail.

“He had to have been summoned by someone, somebody with a flat, or a trouble ... he is one of those ‘good souls’ who people know they can rely on if they need him and is someone they would call if they were ‘in big trouble.’”

Ann Boylan also said her father does not like to be far from the hospital, because he’d previously had a heart attack.

“He would always help anybody that would ask him. We’re just wondering if anybody came to the door and asked him,” she said.

Both women and their brother, Tom Boylan Jr., strongly disagreed with earlier reports their father could be suffering from possible dementia.

“He has some confusion as an older person would ” if the Rockies are on, he might call them the Broncos ” but he’s not walking around with dementia,” Ann Boylan said.

“He’s very bright, completely politically involved and interested in life, functions fine, handles his own finances, lives alone and has never shown me any sign of serious forgetfulness or confusion beyond that of any ordinary 45-year-old,” Jeanne Boylan said.

“I don’t buy it (dementia).”

Boylan Jr. said his father knows who he is and how to get back home. The younger Boylan has spent the past few days driving old hunting routes, even though it’s been decades said Boylan Sr. has been hunting.

From the Black Canyon to Silverjack, Blue Creek, Wetterhorn, Ouray, Ridgway, Beaver Hill, the Flat Top area, the adobes, Boylan Jr. has searched, leaving word with every hunter he encounters.

No luck.

“I’ve got to totally believe that’s just not where he’s at,” Boylan Jr. said. “As much as I hate to admit it, it’s looking more and more to me like foul play.”

He explained that foul play is conjecture at this point, but is sure he knows what did not happen: “I know in my gut that he didn’t drive up into the mountains and disappear, or forget where he’s at.”

The family is asking everyone to keep an eye out for Boylan’s vehicle, which has mismatched, dented panels. The front portion of the vehicle is black; the rear is blue and white. It could be anywhere, under just about any circumstances ” from theft, to a wreck” Jeanne Boylan said.

“We don’t know, but we can’t discard any possibilities.”

Additionally, the Boylans said a local pilot has been assisting in the search. That man could not be immediately reached for comment.

“We’re trying to find out where he’s at,” Montrose Police Cmdr. Gene Lillard said. “His health is not the best. We’re concerned about his welfare. We’re diligently looking into leads.”

Police on Monday had hoped Boylan might be with a platonic friend of his, but have since located the woman and ruled that out.

Though Lillard said police at this time don’t suspect foul play, Boylan’s disappearance is cause for concern.

“It’s out of character that he would up and take off like this,” he said.

Tom Boylan Sr. is 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 135 pounds, gray hair and brown eyes. Though known to wear suspenders, the ones he had no longer fit as well because he has lost weight.

He always wears white socks with black shoes and usually wears plaid sweat pant-type/fleecey bottoms, which he usually rolls up. He usually wears a plaid shirt.
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009...f2164669322.txt

[mimi]

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Montrose authorities are looking for an 82-year-old man who disappeared after a neighbor saw him leave his home late on the night of Oct. 20.

Police Chief Tom Chinn said investigators have no idea where Thomas Boylan Sr. might have gone and are following up on every lead.

Boylan was seen leaving his home on south Pythian Street about 10:30 p.m., driving a 1990 Chevrolet Suburban. He might have been wearing fleece-type plaid bottoms and a plaid shirt, police said.

Boylan is on heart medication but apparently left it behind in his home, and he left lights on the home, police said.

Boylan is 5 feet 10 inches, weighs 135 pounds and has gray hair and brown eyes. He usually wears a plaid shirt and is known to wear suspenders, white socks and black shoes.

His Chevrolet Suburban bears Colorado license plate number 540 PCP.

The Montrose Sheriff’s Department is looking for another missing man, Abade “Abe” Martinez.

Martinez, 52, was seen Aug. 2 near a relative’s home on 58.25 Road in Olathe. The Sheriff’s Department, which has conducted previous searches, is planning another ground search Nov. 7, after the water is shut off to the canals.

Anyone with information about either man is asked to contact authorities at 970-252-4010, 970-252-4020 or 970-252-4021
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/...appearance.html

[mimi]

Martinez, Boylan families seek missing loved ones

By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, October 29, 2009 4:12 AM MDT

MONTROSE -- Two missing men. Two cases; two different sets of circumstances. And now, two families fearing the worst.

The sheriff’s office continues to search for Abade “Abe” Martinez, missing since Aug. 2. The police department, meanwhile, continues looking for Thomas Boylan Sr., who hasn’t been seen for more than a week.

“It gets tougher every day,” Victoria Martinez, Abe’s sister, said. Recent snowfall has added to the family’s fears for Abe’s safety. Victoria said she is also worried that her brother might be in the canals near where he went missing.

Abe Martinez, 52, was last seen near a relative’s home on 58.25 Road in Olathe. There are miles of canals, fields and open country nearby. The sheriff’s office, which previously undertook massive ground searches and floated the canal, is planning another ground search for him Nov. 7, after the canals have been turned out for the year.

Victoria Martinez appealed to the public for volunteers to help walk the area.

“Right now, that’s what we’re banking our hopes on, is the search,” she said. “There’s a lot of ground to cover.”

The sheriff’s office confirmed there would be a search Nov. 7. Details are forthcoming, pending an operational meeting of the sheriff’s posse.

Boylan’s family still fears foul play in his Oct. 20 disappearance. The 82-year-old Montrose man was last seen leaving his home on South Pythian St., near the hospital. He was driving his 1990 Chevy Suburban and possibly wearing fleecy-type plaid bottoms and a plaid shirt.

Boylan is on heart medication, but apparently left it behind in his home, and also left his lights on. He typically sticks close to home and is not known to go out at night, but a neighbor saw him leave at around 10:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

Police have considered that Boylan might have dementia, but his children strongly contest that notion and say they don’t want the public’s perception to be swayed the wrong direction during the search.

“My gut tells me that he gave someone a ride or was coerced into it, and they turned on him,” Jeanne Boylan, Tom’s daughter, said via e-mail Wednesday.

She fears her father was harmed and his truck disposed of.

“I can think of no other reason why it’s not turned up by now.”

Jeanne said that she asking for people to keep a close eye out for the Suburban, or ”though “morbid” ” any signs of a dead body.

Montrose Police Chief Tom Chinn said investigators continue to check all reported sightings.

They recently looked at a vehicle that was found in the Norwood area, but it proved not to be Boylan’s.

“There’s nothing that indicates foul play, but on the other hand, anything is a possibility. Until both he and the vehicle are found, anything is a possibility,” Chinn said.

“We’ve not ruled out any of those situations, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.”

Chinn said the recent turn to wintry weather has the police concerned.

“(In) colder weather, anyone, regardless of age or health conditions, (if) they get stranded in some remote area, this could be extremely detrimental.”

Anyone with information about either Martinez or Boylan should contact authorities immediately at (970) 252-4010, (970) 252-4020 or (970) 252-4021.

Martinez is 5-feet, 7-inches tall, 130 pounds, dark hair with salt-and-pepper highlights, was clean-shaven at the time of his disappearance, and has brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. He left behind his cigarettes and hat that usually go with him everywhere.

Boylan is 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 135 pounds, gray hair and brown eyes. Though known to wear suspenders, the ones he had no longer fit as well because he has lost weight.

He always wears white socks with black shoes and usually wears plaid sweat pant-type/fleecey bottoms, which he usually rolls up. He usually wears a plaid shirt.

His Suburban bears Colorado license plate number 540 PCP.

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009...c0505058043.txt

[tatertot]

http://www.telluridewatch.com/pages/full_s...tance=News_page

Body of Man Found on Red Mountain Pass
by Beverly Corbell
Nov 05, 2009

There’s no official confirmation, but it’s possible that the body of a man found on Red Mountain Pass this morning is that of a missing elderly Montrose man.

A Colorado State Patrol dispatch employee said no information was available at this time because law enforcement is still at the scene.

He did confirm that the body was found this morning (Thursday) at the scene of a one-vehicle accident in the area of the pass, but would give no details.

The family of 82-year-old Thomas Boylan has been frantic about his whereabouts since he drove his 1990 Chevy Suburban from his driveway on Oct. 20 at about 10:30 p.m., according to a neighbor.

A retired plumber and long-time Montrose resident, Boylan’s relatives said he had no age-related mental issues.

Police have been trying to locate Boylan since his disappearance, but with no success.

More details on the discovery of the body and whether it is that of Boylan will be reported as soon as information is released.

[mimi]

Body of Man Found on Red Mountain Pass

by Beverly Corbell
Nov 05, 2009

MONTROSE – There’s no official confirmation, but it’s possible that the body of man found on Red Mountain Pass this morning is that of a missing elderly Montrose man.

A Colorado State Patrol dispatch employee said no information was available at this time because law enforcement is still at the scene.

He did confirm that the body was found this morning (Thursday) at the scene of a one-vehicle accident in the area of the pass, but would give no details.

The family of 82-year-old Thomas Boylan has been frantic about his whereabouts since he drove his 1990 Chevy Suburban from his driveway on Oct. 20 about 10:30 p.m., according to a neighbor.

A retired plumber and long-time Montrose resident, Boylan’s relatives said he had no age-related mental issues.

Police have been trying to locate Boylan since his disappearance, but with no success.

More details on the discovery of the body and whether it is that of Boylan will reported as soon as information is released.

[mimi]

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009...07635060791.txt

Boylan family confirms death

By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Published/Last Modified on Friday, November 6, 2009 7:50 AM MST

MONTROSE-- ” Thomas Boylan Sr., missing since Oct. 20, was the victim of a crash on Red Mountain Pass, his family said in an e-mail to the Daily Press.

According to Jeanne Boylan, her father failed to negotiate a sharp curve on the pass. Ironically, she said, it was at the same spot where her parents had their honeymoon pictures taken 62 years ago.

Boylan's distinctive 1990 Suburban plunged from mile marker 90 on Highway 550 to the bottom of a ravine, where passersby could not see it. The Colorado State Patrol report said the vehicle rolled nearly 400 feet down the embankment.
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Trooper Darel Reed said the vehicle was barely visible. "You had to be looking really hard. It's hard to see," he said.

Additionally, the ravine has other cars from other crashes that have not been recovered, Reed said. Drivers who lose control at that spot are likely to hit either the cliffside, or roll down the embankment.

Reed was not immediately certain who had located Boylan's vehicle.

"Though the wait was excruciating and the hunt was hard, I am grateful beyond words to have been so deeply and profoundly reminded of what an exceptional town we grew up in," Jeanne Boylan said.

"The town my father had so purposely chosen to raise his children in, where values still matter, where people still reach out when they know you need a hand, where friends come through when they know you're in pain, and where we don't forget our common experiences.

"A town where the term "love thy neighbor as thyself" has just been proven to be taken literally."

"Thank you Montrose, for being what you've always been, a town with a heart, a soul and a place that my father and my family will always will be so very proud to call 'home.'"

Word of a fatal accident on the pass surfaced Thursday night. Police officials were not able to confirm Boylan's death at the time.

You can read more about this incident, including Jeanne Boylan's full letter, in tomorrow's Daily Press. Any significant updates will be posted online as they are received.

[mimi]

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009...35933562591.txt

No place like home: Family remembers Tom Boylan, thanks Montrose


By Jeanne Boylan
Special to the Press

Published/Last Modified on Friday, November 6, 2009 10:10 PM MST

My name is Jeanne Boylan, one of six children born to Tom and Jean Boylan of Montrose. My parents eloped from New York City in 1947 order to marry and raise a family in what was then a small and hidden western town. With great pride, they purchased their first home together in the late 40s. Over a span of 13 years, all six children were bundled up in cotton and driven home from Montrose Memorial Hospital, just two blocks away, and carried up the concrete steps of the house we'd all live in through high school graduation. It remains our family home to this day.

Over the years, my father became a Montrose volunteer fireman who loved driving the mascot fire truck in the Main Street parades. He was part of the summer softball teams behind the high school, a beaming father as his kids played sports, or swam competitively, and rode in the county rodeos on the arthritic horse he bought for us all. We could outrun that horse, but he'd chosen it specifically for us so that we would be sure to be safe.

"Tom" as he was affectionately called about town, wanted a to make a life for my mother and us that he'd never had growing up on the rough streets of the Bronx and Manhattan as they existed back then. His love of Colorado grew so deep and enduring that from age19 to 82, he never went east again. The only NY trace left in him was a glimpse now and then in his 'tough guy' humor or mannerisms.

Then Dad "went missing" as the expression goes, on Oct. 20, 2009. There was no sign of what could have happened. Phone calls and emails began instantly pouring in when the news broke that he had vanished. Concerns and prayers came from people whose his lives he had touched, from those whose cars he had towed when they'd been broken down, or whose kids he had driven to school when the snow was piled high, people whose furniture he's helped move, or pipes he'd helped fix, or those he'd drive to and from work, just to make sure that they get there okay. His "thing" he believed, was to help those were were needy, a value he held to his core. On Saturday nights, he would escort the "old people" to and from their pews at mass, until they day came when Tom became the one who needed a hand.

For 62 years, my father called that little town his "home." And Montrose paid him back in grandiose fashion in these two torturous weeks since he disappeared with all the outpouring of help that was given to us in trying to bring him home.

Scott's Print Shop donated their services, old high school friends from all of our MHS classes banded together to distribute flyers, delivering them to every possible location in and outside of town. More called in from neighboring counties offering to search along the highways they frequently traveled. Dad's fellow Elks stepped up offering "anything we can do, anything at all," they said. Church members brought food and hugs and offered up prayers from state wide. And old friend named Tim Heavers took his own time and money to fly his plane over any route that my father might have taken in the event he'd broken down and been stranded somehow without help. The town cared about what had happened and they showed it in magnificent ways.

Would any of that have taken place had my father remained in New York? Would anyone have noticed his absence? Or was this proof that he'd truly found the good life that he'd come searching for?

My Dad made two great decisions in his lifetime. The first was to marry my mother. The second was to pick Montrose, Colorado as their special place to settle down.

Dad was found on Nov. 15, 16 days after he'd last been seen. Montrose Police Chief Tom Chinn gently told us the news: "Your dad failed to negotiate a sharp curve on a steep mountain pass" he advised. Ironically, he gone off the road at the same location from which my parents had their honeymoon photos taken more than sixty two years ago. His old truck had found its way 400 feet down to the bottom of the dark and treacherous canyon, hidden from passersby and nearly covered in snow. And only through the Grace of God and the efforts of searchers, it was spotted before the next storm buried him until spring.

Though the wait was excruciating and the hunt for him was indescribably hard, my family is grateful beyond words to have been so deeply and profoundly reminded of what an exceptional town we grew up in.

This little western town that my father had so purposely chosen to raise his children in is indeed where values still matter, where people still reach out when they know you need a hand, where friends come through when they know you're in pain, and where we don't forget our common experiences. A town where the term "love thy neighbor as thyself" has just been proven to be literal.

On behalf of the Boylan family, we want to thank every person who came forward to help us find Dad. Thank you Montrose Police Department for your tireless work. And thank you Montrose for being what you've always been, a town with a heart, a soul and a place that my father was and my family will always will be so very proud to call "home."