Search for missing Granville man continues

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Police agencies in both New York and Vermont have recently ramped up efforts in the search for Jonathan Schaff, a Granville man who went missing in January 2014. Their investigation includes scuba diving in local quarries and questioning more than 30 witnesses. Police are looking into all tips in an effort to solve the case that started nearly 3 years ago.

By Krystle S. Morey

Vermont State Police have been busy questioning potential witnesses in a local missing person case.
Jonathan Schaff, a Granville man who was reported missing more than two years ago. He was last seen on January 18, 2014 at the New York-Vermont border walking east on Route 149.
“We’re shaking the bushes,” said Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Todd L. Wilkins.
Wilkins said police completed more than 30 interviews in connection with the case last week, many of which resulted in polygraph tests.

Jonathan Schaff

“We do not polygraph everybody,” he said. “We asked some people to take them and they have. Nobody has refused.”
More interviews are scheduled for this week, Wilkins said.
People being questioned include witnesses who were at the Main Street bar at which Schaff was seen drinking that night; people who saw him last; and people he had contact with on Facebook and via text.
“All of these people have some connection to Schaff or that night,” Wilkins said.
A Wells, Vermont resident who reached out to the Granville Sentinel, requesting anonymity, said he was questioned by police last Wednesday about the night Schaff went missing, noting that a few of his friends were asked to take polygraph tests. The detective told the man police were “turning over every rumor in the road because it could have a fact in it,” including reported tips and comments on Facebook.
“This is the culmination of the last couple of months looking into this case and finding people,” Wilkins said. “We started with a big pool of people and we’re trying to narrow everything down to one possibility …. and walk down that path.”
Vermont State Police and New York State Police Scuba Teams searched a local quarry earlier this month for evidence relating to Schaff’s disappearance.
Wilkins said there are no additional ground searches scheduled.
“It doesn’t mean that there won’t be some in the future,” he added. “This is very much still an active investigation. A lot of officers are dedicating a lot time on all sides.
We are going to see what we get on the human element of this case and then go from there.”
New York State Police Detective Investigator Jason DeLuca is handling the case on the New York side. The Vermont State Police and the New York State Police, with the assistance of the Granville Police Department, continue to jointly investigate the disappearance of Schaff.