In the spring of 2010, the exact date is uncertain, 75-year-old Vincent Durso, a long-time resident of the Bronx in New York, vanished without a trace. A man of routine and community ties, he was a familiar face at the tennis courts in Crotona Park, a place he knew well and frequented often. On the evening he was last seen, he had been in the park and later drove his wife's home health aide to the vicinity of East 166th Street and Boston Road. After that drop-off, Mr. Durso was never heard from or seen again, leaving his family in a state of agonizing uncertainty. He was reportedly wearing a blue bomber jacket, a beige shirt, brown pants, and black sneakers at the time of his disappearance.
The days following his disappearance brought no solace, only deepening the mystery. Four days after he was last seen, his black 1997 Honda Accord was discovered legally parked at Crotona Park East and Suburban Place.
An examination of the vehicle offered no clues; there were no signs of a struggle and no suspicious fingerprints were found inside. Vincent was a man with deep roots in his community, having lived on Hollywood Avenue with his wife since 1968. He was an elder at the Fort Schuyler Presbyterian Church and also managed several rental properties he owned, a task that sometimes involved collecting rents in the evening. There was speculation he may have been heading to one of his buildings on Third Avenue or White Plains Road, but leaving his car where it was found would have been out of character for him. His family, desperate for answers, hired a private investigator and even a psychic to aid in the search.
The investigation into Vincent Durso's disappearance grew cold over time, though it remained an open case for years. He had known medical conditions, including a VP shunt implanted in his head and a scar down the middle of his chest from heart valve surgery. Some reports noted that he was also a small-time loan shark and might have been carrying a significant amount of cash when he vanished. In the years following his disappearance, a notable development occurred when two of his investment properties were sold to a high-ranking member of the NYPD in 2013 at a price considered below market value, while the investigation into his case was still active. Despite the efforts of law enforcement and his loved ones, no definitive explanation for his disappearance has ever come to light. In June of 2015, with no new leads or evidence, Vincent Durso was declared legally dead by a surrogate court judge. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery, a story of a devoted family man who went about his evening routine and simply never came home.Last Seen: Apr 21, 2010
