Police search property of missing Unity woman's 'boyfriend'
State troopers Thursday morning converged on a Unity property owned by a man who a Pittsburgh attorney identified as the boyfriend of a missing Unity woman.
The property where police were seen sifting through material in a burn barrel is owned by Thomas G. Stanko, according to Westmoreland County records.
No arrest has been made in the disappearance of Cassandra E. Gross, 51, police said.
Stanko denies any involvement in her disappearance, attorney David Shrager said Thursday afternoon.
“My client has nothing to hide and is anxiously” awaiting Gross' return, Shrager said.
On Tuesday, police found Gross' red 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander along railroad tracks in a wooded area near Twin Lakes Park in Hempfield, three days after her family and friends last spoke with her. The SUV had been burned almost beyond recognition. Investigators are pleading with Gross or anyone she may be with to contact them or Gross' family.
Troopers spent several hours at Stanko's home Thursday and left about 2:15 p.m.
Shrager said it is natural for police to consider someone close to a missing person as a “person of interest.”
Stanko and Gross last week had made plans to get together, Shrager said. When Gross didn't respond to Stanko's text messages, he got worried, Shrager said.
“We are happy to answer questions” from police, he said.
Gross was reported missing Monday by her mother, who last talked to her by phone Saturday afternoon. Her daughter didn't show up Monday at her job in Pittsburgh. Her dog, which is blind, was found along Beatty County Road, a few miles from her apartment and about five miles from Twin Lakes Park.
A Norfolk Southern railroad employee reported the burned vehicle to state police around 6 p.m. Tuesday after spotting it from a passing train along a rail line near the park. It took investigators until Wednesday morning to confirm it was Gross' vehicle because of the damage.
Police said it appears the SUV was taken to that spot and set on fire.
Investigators have not publicly called the case anything other than a missing person investigation. Gross' mother, Kathleen Gross, told the Tribune-Review that she doesn't believe her daughter ran away or committed suicide. She gave police the name of a man she said has been bothering Gross for a few months and said the two were not in a relationship.
Cassandra Gross lived alone at the apartment and often talked to her mother during her work commute.
Police are seeking information from anyone who may have seen Gross' SUV in the Twin Lakes area or any other unusual activity. The license plate is HLP 1411.
Anyone with information is asked to call state police in Greensburg at 724-832-3288 or 911.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.
