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Letter to the editor

Kin, friends share hopes for missing man

His relatives design T-shirts and a Web site in their quest for answers.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published June 4, 2005

HOMOSASSA - About a dozen people stood in the spitting rain near the biggest known clue to the whereabouts of George "Skip" Zelaya.

It was Friday afternoon, and Zelaya's relatives and friends gathered in the parking lot of Publix on U.S. 19 in Homosassa. A few pointed to the spot where Zelaya's 1988 white Lincoln was found in mid January.

None has heard from him since.

"He has five kids," said Eileen Zelaya, 39, one of his daughters, who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. "I don't think he would just walk away."

The Zelaya family is desperate for information about the missing man, a 62-year-old whose youthful face and dark brown hair make him appear years younger. His relatives have set up a Web site at http://findgeorgeskipzelaya.com to help them find him. They've offered $2,500 for information. The Victims' Rights Foundation, a Maryland nonprofit, is working with the family.

They've made T-shirts. A photograph on the front shows a smiling man with a striped red shirt. On the back is a Bible verse: "Nothing shall be hid that shall not be revealed; Matt 10:26." The verse hints at the family's suspicion that someone knows something about what happened to him.

"Who goes to hide to commit suicide?" asked his brother, Joe Zelaya, 63, also of Homosassa.

Joe Zelaya was the only family member at Friday's meeting to have heard anything from his brother, he said. A few days after the car was found, Joe Zelaya received a note in the mail from his brother. It had information about a bank account and was signed, "Sorry, Skip," he said. But the ZIP code was wrong, he said, and the note raised more questions than it answered.

"All I've got is suspicions and questions," he said.

Zelaya was last seen about 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at his home on the 5700 block of S Sea Otter Path in Homosassa, according to the Web site. His former wife, Paula, said she saw his abandoned car later at Publix, according to family members and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office released information in January about his disappearance, but it seemed scant information was available.

Zelaya, a handyman and electrician, lived with Paula Zelaya at the time of his disappearance, according to the family. She could not be reached for comment.

Zelaya was last seen wearing jeans, a long-sleeve dress shirt and work boots, according to the Web site. Zelaya was lured to Citrus by the hope of working at the Crystal River nuclear power plant, his children said. When that dream didn't come true, he worked odd jobs.

The Web site is full of personal details about Zelaya. He enjoys watching football and cheers for the Washington Redskins. He smokes nonfilter Camel cigarettes and drinks Budweiser beer and orange juice with rum on the rocks.

Anyone with information about Zelaya's whereabouts is asked to call 911 or 726-1121. An anonymous tip line is also available at 1-888-269-8477.

--Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 860-7312 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 4, 2005, 06:14:28]