Pennsylvania authorities on Wednesday arrested a man whose parents own the sprawling property at the center of a major missing persons investigation.
Cosmo Dinardo, 20, is accused of attempting to sell a 1996 Nissan Maxima owned by Thomas Meo, 21, one of the men who went missing last week, Bucks County district attorney Matthew Weintraub said on Wednesday afternoon.
Meo, 21, was reported missing on July 8, and a day later, Dinardo attempted to sell Meo’s vehicle to a friend for $500, Weintraub said.
Meo, along with Mark Sturgis, 22, and Dean Finocchiaro, 19, went missing July 5. Jimi Patrick, 19, has not been seen since Friday. Foul play is suspected in their disappearances.
Local and state police and the FBI have embarked on an “all hands on deck” search for the men that, as of Wednesday morning, remained “wide open,” Weintraub said.
The investigation has centered on the sprawling farmland property in Solebury Township owned by Antonio and Sandra Dinardo, Cosmo Dinardo’s parents. The arrest on Wednesday comes on the fourth day of an intensive search of that property.
Weintraub said Wednesday afternoon that he was “encouraged” that there would be some finality in the case.
“The search at the scene up the road is really intensifying,” Weintraub said. “We are going to find something for sure, I have no doubt of that.”
