A person of interest has been arrested and is in police custody in connection to the case of four men who were last seen Friday in Bucks County.
In a morning briefing to members of the press, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said that law enforcement officials have arrested Cosmo DiNardo, 20, of Bensalem, who has been re-arrested on a charge of illegal possession of a gun from February.
Weintraub said DiNardo’s bail has been set at ten percent of $1 million, at the urging of Weintraub’s office, because DiNardo is a person of interest in the case of the four Bucks County men who have been missing since last week.
Though, the district attorney noted, DiNardo’s months-old charge is not connected to the missing individuals.
“Sometimes, the chasm between being a person of interest and being a person accused and arrested, and certainly convicted, of a crime is so wide, we never cross it,” said Weintraub, cautioning the media to not jump to conclusions following DiNardo’s arrest.
Weintraub said that he wanted to caution reporters not to move too fast to report this story, as he had seen an article that claimed remains had been found by those searching for the men.
“Slow and steady. This is a marathon, not a sprint,” said the district attorney. “No human remains have been found.”
Weintraub said Tuesday that hundreds of law enforcement officials – including members of the state police, U.S. Marshals and the FBI – are involved in the search for the four missing men.
Also, he said, the search is currently centered on a farm located along the 6000 block of Lower York Road in New Hope, which is owned by DiNardo’s family.
The district attorney said that law enforcement officials are searching a “90-some acre” area with a “very fine-toothed comb” in the hopes of finding 22-year-old Mark Sturgis of Pennsburg, Tom Meo, 21, of Plumstead, Dean Finocchiaro, 18, of Middletown and Jimi Tar Patrick, in his late teens, of Newtown Township.
Weintraub said that as the search continues, law enforcement officials are still trying to find out how all four of the missing individuals knew each other and what might have brought them to the DiNardos’ property.
The district attorney said that he is planning to hold another briefing later Tuesday afternoon to provide another update on the ongoing search.
