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Is Missing Man’s Body Buried Under Tavern? Modern Technology Could Help Solve 1968 Cold Case

CONYNGHAM TOWNSHIP — Benjamin Krupinski was 62 when he went missing back in 1968. He was last seen leaving the Rinehimer Inn and Tavern near Shickshinny. ...
luz cold case

CONYNGHAM TOWNSHIP -- Benjamin Krupinski was 62 when he went missing back in 1968. He was last seen leaving the Rinehimer Inn and Tavern near Shickshinny.

Now, with the help of modern technology, investigators are scanning under the inn's basement because there are several signs that Krupinski may have been buried there.

"My gut feeling is I believe we are going to find him there," Benjamin’s son Anthony said.

Anthony Krupinski's father Benjamin went missing in November of 1968 after spending a night at the old Rinehimer Inn and Tavern near Shickshinny by Lily Lake.

"It’s a little tough to talk about because he's been missing that long. And people know, so many people up here really know what went on and people kept their mouth shut," Anthony added.

Years went by with no new information until the Rinehimer Inn was sold years later. That's when an ornate cane was found on a shelf in a closet while the new owner was cleaning. Benjamin Krupinski used the cane to walk with his asthma.

"He couldn't walk nowhere without that cane," Anthony said.

The inn was where family members believed Krupinski's body was buried. They just couldn't prove it or give police enough information for a warrant.

Krupinski's son even examined the basement closely shortly after his father's disappearance, which raised a lot of red flags.

“There was a fresh dug spot in the basement dirt and I stepped on it and the guy who took us down there yanked me away and he told me, ‘Don't go there. They're doing work there.’ I think a week later, the place was concreted."

Now, with the cooperation of the new owner of the inn, radar crews spent the day using ground penetrating radar equipment to get a good look at what's buried below that concrete.

“We're actually taking a grid of the entire concrete slab, and we can view foot by foot increments to see what is underneath that slab to get a precise location of where this could be," said Keith Sareyka with Master Locators Inc.

It will take crews about a week or two to analyze the scans of the basement before they can officially determine if in fact there's a body buried there.

"I hope that we do find him so we can do the right thing and put him to rest and have peace," said Roseann Briggs, Benjamin Krupinski’s daughter.

As for what happened to Krupinski, that's still unknown, but troopers say there likely is someone who is responsible.

"An older man with asthma got a paycheck, left the bar, and was never seen again. Doesn't sound right. If there was no foul play, we should've been able to find a body if a guy goes for a walk and passes away from natural causes. We should find them. The indication that we haven't found a body after this long gives the indication there's a body buried somewhere," said Tpr. Thomas Kelly, Pennsylvania State Police.

Depending on the results when they come back, crews will then look into the possibility of ripping up that concrete basement floor as they hope to put an end to this decades-long case.

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