OLD FORGE -- Robert Baron's face has been popping up all over Old Forge this week. It's part of a new effort to find him. He went missing from his family's pizza shop five months ago.
Baron was last seen at Ghigiarelli's in Old Forge on January 25. Just this past week, his family put up signs around the borough pleading for information and advertising a $10,000 reward.
'It's encouraging to start to see signs developing, and some furtherance of this quest to find an answer."
Richard Bauer saw a sign at the hair salon near his home.
"If it's not in the news, if it's not in their face, they're not thinking about it and they move on. It's kind of sad that way. It should be accentuated until it's solved, if possible," Bauer said.
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Baron's family thought the same and with help from several businesses, they've purchased and hung up several of the signs around Old Forge.
It's been five months without their husband and dad, and five months without the restaurant that's always been like home.
Robert Baron went missing from Ghiagiarelli's in Old Forge in January. Investigators said evidence found inside the pizza place shows that Baron was likely injured there.
But, Baron's wife Maria and son Robert Jr. say it's time to start cooking again.
"He would want that, there`s no question. Things might be, would be, totally different I`m sure when, if, he walks through this door. But, he would still want this place to be up and running," Maria said.
They don't have a reopening date quite yet. They're making some renovations first and focusing on a new effort to find Baron. With the help of several local businesses, the Barons have hung signs all over Old Forge advertising a $10,000 reward.
"It`s our responsibility to regenerate that interest, so to speak, so, we`re doing everything we can. It seems like there`s a sense of closure, so to speak, on the horizon. Hopefully, with this, that will motivate maybe this person to come forward, or something, we`re looking for anything we can at this point," Robert, Jr. added.
The signs are also strategically worded - they say "someone here knows where he is". The Barons have always thought that the answer to finding Robert lies in Old Forge.
"He was our whole world. He would have done the same for all of us, he would have done the same for all of us, we`re not going to give up on him, either. We`re going to make sure these people go down," Robert, Jr. said.
Linda Tomlinson runs her business right next to Baron's. For her, the signs have brought some comfort.
"And every day I pull up and I have to stop and look at him and say a couple words. I do, I miss him a lot. I can't even imagine his family, how they feel and his close friends," Tomlinson said.
It's been five months since Baron disappeared from the pizza restaurant and Tomlinson thinks, at this point, anything could help.
"We miss him and we hope this works because somebody out there does know something."
