Some background on my interest in the Nick Garza case

A bit of back story for those unfamiliar.

When I first heard about the disappearance of Nick Garza, I really didn't give it much thought. He disappeared February 5th, but the story didn't break until a week later. Nick vanished over the college's winter break and there was some delay in his absence being reported to his mom and to the local police. There's a lot more to that story, but those particular recriminations are not pertinent to my post at this moment.

Anyhoo, the first stories started emerging February 11th, the day before I was admitted for surgery. I heard the story before I went in to the hospital and unfortunately I think my thoughts were along the lines of, "some kid got too drunk and is buried in the snow somewhere". I thought they probably would've found him by the time I was discharged from the hospital later in the week. Very simplistic, yes, but also the event that was most probable with the small amount of information being given out at the time, and the way the Middlebury PD was spinning what little was known.

I'm not sitting in judgment of those who get wasted and do stupid things... seriously - "there but for the grace of God go I". I hardly drink at all these days, but there was a time when... well, let's just say I'm amazed I am alive and wasn't found dead in a snow bank, the lake, wrapped around a tree, etc., etc.. In Vermont, snow/ice + alcohol related deaths happen every winter. Drunk people fall through ice, get lost in snowstorms, lose consciousness due to trauma or alcohol poisoning outdoors, flip their snowmobile or ATV, etc., etc..

But after I got home from the hospital I was surprised to learn that not only hadn't this kid been found, there was no evidence or leads at all. And he was NOT a drunk whitehat* as I had initially assumed, either. He was truly intelligent, interesting, cultured, well-read, close to his family, and wasn't drunk the night he disappeared. It was clear that my initial assumptions based on statistical probability and disingenuous/incomplete pieces of the story were wrong, wrong, wrong.

So, hmmm. What information is available? From the Garza's website:

On the night of February 5th Nick Garza left his dorm at Middlebury College with another student at 10:43pm. He entered another dorm at 10:48pm. He was last seen leaving this building at 11:05pm to walk back to his room some 500 yards away. He has not been seen since.

At that time the school was in the midst of a week long winter break, and few students were on campus.

The next day, February 6th, students called Nick repeatedly. They also visited his room. With no response, campus security was notified. The same day Nick's room was searched, finding his only winter coat, laptop, and iPod. All items that Nick would have taken with him if he was going away on a trip.

Nick’s mother, Natalie Garza, speaks to Nick nearly every day via email, texts, and cell phone calls. On Saturday, February 9th, having not heard from him in three days, she contacted campus security and expressed concern and requested that his room be searched. She was told he most likely went on a camping trip with friends and they would wait until the students returned. When she was notified that the group returned and Nick had not been with them, she immediately filed a missing persons report with the Middlebury Police on Sunday, February 10th.

A search of the Middlebury campus has failed to provide any clues as to Nick´s whereabouts. The Middlebury and Vermont State Police have been conducting a thorough search and are considering all possibilities.

And today, three months later? They still have not found him and there is no new substantive information regarding what happened that night. It is believed he is deceased and in the Otter Creek which runs through Middlebury, but his body has not actually been recovered.

I do not habitually follow murder or missing persons cases in Vermont or anywhere else. I'm not a member of any sleuthing message boards (although I have signed up for a few in the past couple of weeks) or listserves. I don't watch any CSI-type shows, though I do love the more classic mystery shows and movies which rely on human perception, not quasi-magical technological flummery. Mostly British series and Nero Wolfe.

I do not fancy myself an amateur detective or anything like that. There was just something about Nick's case that was so infernally mysterious. I think there are four reasons why I am so interested in his disappearance:

1. It happened in Vermont, my beloved home state. Nick was a guest here, attending Middlebury College.
2. The complete lack of physical evidence or any leads AT ALL. Nothing points to any probable series of events from that night. Nothing. Nothing about it makes sense. This makes my brain itch.
3. Relating to the victim. I never met Nick, but from what I have learned he seems like the kind of person I would like. He was not just smart, but a bit of a razor-tongued smart ass. An intelligent, funny, loyal smart ass with a heart of gold. That describes a lot of the dearest people in my life.
4. Eva Sollberger. I think Eva was drawn to the case initially for the same reasons I was. I remember she called one day when I was still bedridden and the conversation went something like,
"Have you been following that Nick Garza thing?"
"OMFG yea! WTF? Where is he?"
"I don't know! We gotta figure it out!"
"I never follow stories like this but I'm, like, obsessing about it."
"I know! Me too!"

Since then Eva has produced three videos, one about Nick (above), one about his disappearance, and one about the volunteer search that took place April 26.

Okay, phew, now I will finally lay out this Trane thing next time... I have to go to a doctor's appointment. Bleah. Story of my damn life.


* A whitehat is a young, obnoxious, jock-type dude who can't handle his booze. Usually a rich University of Vermont student. They wear baseball caps (usually white) at all times and travel in packs. They're very stupid, inarticulate, and like to yell things like "faggot" or "oh dude, I totally tapped that shit!". Sometimes they are accompanied by young women of similar age, alcohol tolerance, and socio-economic status who look like prostitutes who have been shoplifting from Urban Outfitters. Whitehats are prone to public drunkenness and spontaneous violence, but never get convicted of anything because they're all white and call their affluent white daddies to bail them out and fix everything. If groups of black or Hispanic young men acted in such an assertively anti-social manner in Vermont they'd probably just get shot by the police. I hate whitehats.