On the night of February 5th, 2008, Nicholas Garza, an extraordinarily bright, strikingly attractive Middlebury College freshman left the Stewart dorm with a friend at 10:43pm. It was the beginning of winter break and not many students were on Middlebury’s campus, whose pastoral sprawl was blanketed with snow. Nick was probably doing what most freshmen do during winter break when you’re stuck on campus: drinking, and wandering around looking for something to do. He entered another dorm, Allen at 10:48pm.
This is where things get weird. He was last seen leaving this building at 11:05pm to make the short walk back across Rte. 125 to get back to his dorm room some 500 yards away. He has not been seen since.
Generally, after this much time, one would assume that Nick Garza is no longer alive. But there are so many unanswered questions. To me, some stand out like prints in snow: why is so little information reported while there is an extensive investigation underway? How could someone like Nick just disappear into to the clean, privileged air of the Middlebury campus without a trace?
In an ongoing investigation, police aren’t obligated to give the media information if it’s going to be detrimental to the case. As of Thursday, May 8th, police are closer to solving the case than ever, but mainly because for the first time in three long months there are a few clues into his disappearance.
After exhaustive searches throughout the winter snow found no traces of Nick, a marine search team from Maine took aerial photos of Otter Creek, the powerful river that cuts through the center of town. This was the only area of Middlebury that had yet to be thoroughly searched. One photo showed what the marine group described as “an object of interest” –an article or thing that matched the colors of Nick’s jeans and white sneakers. It could be his legs? A blue and white chair? Who knows. By the time the information got back to the search team the object had moved further down the river and into the night.
Early this Wednesday, investigators found graffiti on a shed near Otter Creek with what resembled a smiley face. This doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary, unless you’re obsessed with morbid stuff, like crime shows about serial killers, and it’s this piece of evidence that made my skin crawl.
Authorities have claimed that over the past decade, upwards of 40 young men, usually outstanding college students, have been murdered by killers who left similar graffiti near their victims. The victims’ bodies were often found in rivers, but nobody could prove they just “fell into the water” and drowned. This mysterious “group” of killers has been dubbed “The Smiley Face Gang” by a few retired NYC detectives who have investigated disappearances of these men.
However, as of today Chief Thomas Handley of Middlebury is downplaying the recent developments. “There’s been a lot of misinformation in the media and a lot of conjecture,” he said. “People are saying things they shouldn’t be saying.” Hanley also rejected media reports linking the Garza case to the serial killer gang. “From what I’ve seen of the media portrayals of the smiley face stuff, this didn’t look anything like it,” he said.
As recently as last week, Joshua Szostack, a Latham College student who had been missing since December 23rd is now being looked at as a possible Smiley Face victim. A smiley face was found near the Hudson River where Joshua’s body eventually turned up. Latham College is in Albany, about 2 hours from Middlebury Vermont.
Gangs do a lot of killing but it’s usually for profit, not smiles. I wasn’t able to contact the NYC detectives who work the Smiley Face gang, but I did contact a former NYPD officer who also had doubts about a “gang” of killers, and said there could be an individual behind these seemingly ritual cases.
The media can easily assist detectives and police working a missing persons case. And parents play a crucial role in the investigation as well. (America’s Most Wanted, Amber Alert). Nick’s mother, Natalie Garza has taken up residence in Middlebury since February, and maintained an impressively strong, un-hysterical front these past few months. She is always articulate and composed in the manner in which she speaks to the media about her missing son. One can only imagine the torment and frustration she is going through.
There is very little anyone else can do. I know a Sheriff in Texas (they don’t mess around there). He explains that the rule of thumb played by most investigators goes something like this: “Don’t doubt anything, objectivity is the key to credibility.” Not surprising words from a police, but then again the obvious lead detective in this case is the media. In serious cases such as homicide or missing persons, the media will put a spin to the information they provide in order to garner or provoke more information. They don’t provide the public with less information as one would assume. “It’s like a delicate art form, being selective with the language and information they have, or accepting less in order to appear in control of the situation” he tells me. There is too much at risk if too much information is revealed early.
Dive teams will go back in the water today in their effort to locate the body of Nick Garza. I have a feeling there either will come a massive break in this case soon, or we’ll be left wondering, with images of the rushing water of Otter Creek for a long time to come.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Nick Garza, please contact the Middlebury Police Department: 802-388-3191. Or email Officer Vegar Boe: vboe {at} police.middlebury.vt(.)us, or nickgarza.info {at} gmail(.)com.
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