ALBANY, N.Y. -- It has been two weeks since Josh Szostak disappeared.
But after business cards and reward posters by the thousands were donated, his father stops strangers to tell the story of his son.
“I just want to bring him home,” said Bill Szostak, Josh’s father.
Bill Szostak began his walk where his son's evening began the night he disappeared. On December 22nd, Josh parked near Delaware and Morton and then headed into this bar to meet up with friends.
“Right now there are no solid leads,” said Bill Szostak. “We've looked into his cell phone, that seems to be a dead end. My son's computer seems to be a dead end.”
When a 21-year-old man disappeared from Albany, his family and friends immediately got the word out to help uncover leads. Now, a couple of weeks later, it seems they're not much closer to finding Josh Szostak. Our Britt Godshalk has the story of a father who uses his fortitude and his feet to keep hope.
The night Josh disappeared, he had been separated from his friends at the Bayou Café downtown. He left the bar and presumably headed back towards his car.
But then, Josh vanished. A Department of Environmental Conservation vehicle was soon discovered damaged and abandoned at the Port of Albany. It had been stolen from a downtown garage, where Josh's cell phone lay nearby. Police hoped dusting the car for fingerprints would prove or disprove a connection, but they came up empty and the results of DNA samples from the car could take weeks.
Still, police say they continue to believe there is a connection, even though they say they have no solid evidence to support that theory.
“I know in my heart and I've also been told that my son has no connection with this DEC vehicle,” said Bill Szostak.
Until a solid lead is uncovered, pleas are made on the street and on the web.
Sonar equipment donated last month by the family of missing woman Suzanne Lyall has never been used, but this week investigators will take those steps as a father takes his own.
Meanwhile, Joshua Szostak's family has retained the services of a private investigator. That investigator has set up an anonymous tip line, which will be answered 24 hours a day.
If you have any information, you're asked to call (518) 424-7236. Again, the family would like to stress that this tip line is not affiliated with any law enforcement agency and all calls will remain confidential.