Family of Joshua Szostak Desperate to Find Missing Son

December 27, 2007

Hudson Valley Community College student Joshua Szostak, 21, has been missing for over a week and police remain stumped by his sudden and mysterious disappearance.

On December 22, 2007, Josh went bar hopping with friends in downtown Albany, New York. They eventually wound up at the Bayou Café on North Pearl Street, where the group stayed until midnight, when they decided to head out to another local bar. Before leaving Josh excused himself to use the restroom, but never returned. His friends searched the bathroom and sent numerous text messages, to no avail. After waiting another 45 minutes his friends left, assuming he had left without saying goodbye.

According to his profile at MySpace.com, Josh is a radio DJ at QUAKE 93.9FM. In the "About Me" section of his profile he wrote:

"I am Josh and a pretty laid back, get-along-with-everyone type guy, love sports, music, cooking, driving, etc. well rounded in most things in life ... feel free to ask anything, I'm a journalism major and a DJ."

In regard to his interests he wrote:

"My life is based on simple things. I write and love to read Poetry. My life revolves around Music. I'm interested in learning about Crime/War (psyche of killers and warriors and why/how they do what they do), the lost art of Romance, and Sports…"

His last login is listed as December 19, 2007.

When Josh failed to contact his family they became concerned for his safety and reported him missing to local authorities. An investigation was launched and police retraced Josh's steps on the night of his disappearance.

"Through the surveillance video at the Bayou we could see that Josh bypassed [his friends], went outside, used the cell, looked up and down the street and couldn't see anybody, decided his friends left, and started hoofin' it towards where his car was," Josh's father, Bill Szostak, said in an interview with capitalnews9.com.

Unfortunately, Josh never made it back to his car. Police later found it parked in the lot of a local bar and video surveillance of the area shows he never returned to the vehicle after he went bar hopping.

Police K9's picked up Josh's scent outside of the Bayou Café and led their handlers in the opposite direction of Josh's car, towards Lincoln Park and the Martin Luther King Monument, but were unable to lend any further clues to his disappearance.

Two days after Josh disappeared, Albany Police discovered a wrecked Department of Environmental Conservation car abandoned on South Pearl Street. Investigators quickly learned the vehicle had been stolen from a DEC parking garage on Broadway. When police went to the garage to investigate, they found Josh's cellphone near the spot where the car was stolen. Police initially suspected Josh had stolen the car. However, Albany police spokesman Detective James Miller later said there was no evidence connecting him to the theft.

On December 26, 2007, over 150 people gathered in Albany to help search for Josh.

"The goal here is to bring my son home," Bill told the crowd before the search began. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

Police, firefighters, and sheriff's deputies canvassed the areas around Pearl Street and the Port of Albany, but despite their best efforts they found no new clues to Josh's whereabouts. Afterwards, Bill spoke briefly with timesunion.com and expressed his concern that his son may have been attacked by a mugger on the night he disappeared.

"He was intoxicated. He had a very expensive jacket on. He had a lot of cash on him," Bill said. "I think when he got into the South End, I feel as though something bad happened to him."

Joshua Szostak is described as 5-foot-11 and weighing 200 pounds.  He was last seen wearing baggy jeans, a black, hooded sweatshirt with skulls and crossbones, a white T-shirt, and tan sneakers.  Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact the Albany Police Department at (518) 438-4000.

UPDATE: Josh has been found. For more information, please visit: www.joshuaszostak.com.

Photo Credit: Contributed