City police chief skeptical of serial-killer scenario in OU student"s 1998 death
May 1, 2008
A pair of retired New York Police detectives announced this week that they think a series of drownings, involving 40 young men in various spots around the country over more than a decade, may actually have been murders.
One of the cases cited by Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte is that of Keith E. Noble, an Ohio University freshman who went missing on April 25, 1998, and whose body was found in the Hocking on May 6, 1998, after two weeks of intensive searching by authorities, assisted by Noble’s friends and family members.
The Athens police chief, however, said yesterday that he’s not aware of any information to support the notion that Noble was the victim of a serial killer.
“This may be two detectives and a professor wanting to write a book,” suggested Chief Rick Mayer. “We have no reason to buy into their theory.”
(Professor D. Lee Gilbertson of St. Cloud State University has also been quoted in news stories talking about the detectives’ theory.)
Gannon and Duarte reportedly started the investigation while both were detectives with the New York Police Deparment. They are now asking the FBI to pick up the trail.
Noble was last seen alive at a party on West Washington Street. Witnesses told police he left the party around 1 a.m., after drinking enough alcohol to become disoriented.
According to news reports at the time, authorities found no evidence of physical violence on Noble’s body, and guessed that he likely died by drowning the same night he disappeared.
Gannon and Duarte, who this week unveiled their theories in the media, including an appearance by Gannon Monday on “Good Morning America,” argue that Noble’s death may be linked to 39 other drowning deaths of college-aged men, in a number of different states.
In many cases, the victim was said to have been intoxicated.
According to published news reports, the detectives claim that in similar cases in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin, they have found a “smiley face” painted near the drowning scene, which they suggest may be a kind of signature of the killer or killers.
Chief Mayer of APD said that to the best of his knowledge, no such icon was found near where Noble died. “My understanding is, that’s right,” he said.
Gannon and Duarte have said that in the 40 cases they’ve looked at in 11 states, the victims all tend to be high-achieving college males.
Ohio University put out a brief statement on the matter, noting that they have received information about the detectives’ theories, and referring all questions to the Athens Police, as the main investigative agency in Noble’s death.
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