No sign of pair; ads hint at move

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS, Times Staff Writer
Published November 5, 2007

TAMPA - As Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies searched for a missing couple by land, sea and air Sunday, online postings suggest they had plans to leave Tampa.

The phone numbers of 30-year-old Trevor McGinty and his 34-year-old girlfriend Wendy Dusza appear on for-sale ads on Tampabay.com and Craigslist.org starting Oct. 4.

One was for a living room set purchased a year ago. Another listed a queen bedroom set purchased just two months ago.

"Yep I know you ask what 2 months old I hear yah," the Craigslist ad says. "Moving back to Chicago and selling everything unfortunately."

Also on Craigslist, an ad for their dog posted Oct. 25:

"Moving to Chicago cant take our wonderful dog with us," it says. "Needs home immediately!!"

Deputies found the dog and a cat, unfed for at least a week, after a family member who couldn't reach the couple for nearly a week reported the pair missing Friday.

Detectives found no evidence of a forced entry into their condo at 4333 Bayside Village Drive. They recovered the couple's boat, but their red 2006 Jeep Wrangler with a tan soft top is missing.

Deputies haven't said whether they suspect foul play in the pair's disappearance.

On Sunday, residents of the Beach Walk Condos walked their dogs, skated and sunned on a pool deck overlooking Old Tampa Bay. Nobody the Times approached, including next-door neighbors, acknowledged knowing the couple. Family members and friends did not return messages left by the Times.

Hernando County court records show McGinty was arrested in February, charged with domestic violence battery. He pleaded no contest, and the judge withheld adjudication, but sentenced him to a year of probation. The judge consolidated that sentence to apply to two other arrests, both in November 2006. On Nov. 11, McGinty was charged with driving under the influence and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

And on Thanksgiving Day, he was charged with discharging a firearm in public and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

He was found guilty of the Nov. 11 charges but the judge withheld adjudication for the second arrest. The terms of his probation included nine days in jail and community service.

There is also a case pending against both McGinty and Dusza, a complaint for foreclosure filed in August by LaSalle Bank.

McGinty and Dusza are self-employed in the mortgage industry. Deputies said they had no new information Sunday night.

McGinty last logged onto MySpace.com on Oct. 22. His photos show the smiling couple on his boat for the Fourth of July, when they watched fireworks over Clearwater.

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or 813 226-3354.

[Last modified November 4, 2007, 23:57:46]