This is my last planned post on the Rust case...
_________________________________
Case Summary
On March 16, 2007 at about 1 am, US Army Sergeant Patrick Rust, who had recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan, left a bar called Clueless in Watertown, NY. Rust had been drinking with friends at the establishment for several hours, was apparently intoxicated, and the bartender refused to serve him any more.
After leaving the bar, investigators reported that Rust's phone was used twice to call one of the friends he had talked with that night/morning. Police have been unable to find anyone who saw him alive again.
Rust did not show-up for work at Fort Drum that next morning and Rust's mother, his roommate, and his supervisor subsequently reported him missing.
Six months later, Rust's skeletal remains were found in a field six miles from the bar. An autopsy was inconclusive as to a cause of death.
-------------------------------------
So, we have a missing active-duty Army sergeant whose remains are found in a farmer's field several miles from where he was last seen months earlier leaving a local tavern.
Sgt. Rust's wallet and some money are located with the remains.
The night he went missing, he reportedly inquired about purchasing cocaine, and met friends at a tavern that is described by some as a "gay bar."
Oddly, a few hours before Rust was scheduled for work, Sgt. Rust's roommate notified Rust's supervisor that the man did not make it home the previous night and would not be at work that day.
Three law enforcement agencies conducted investigations, but the case is currently closed (referred to as "administratively closed") with no arrests being made--with no plans to reopen it unless new information becomes available.
Why is it closed?
I believe the case is not being pursued for three reasons:
1) The Coroner's Report Revealed Little Information
Was Sgt. Rust strangled? Was he stabbed? Was he poisoned? With a system full of alcohol, did he die of hypothermia on that cold night? Without specifics that can be used to prove that a crime was committed involving the sergeant's death, developing a criminal case is quite difficult.
2) The Case Was Not Thought to Be a Death Investigation
Initially, it was believed by military officials that Sgt. Rust had gone AWOL. As with missing persons cases when foul play is not expected, leads and information that may have been present on day one, are later gone or certainly much harder to find.
3) There is a Person of Interest, but He is Not Talking
In October of 2008, Detective Steven Cote of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department confirmed in the media that police had been trying to talk with a soldier who had reportedly been with Sgt. Rust prior to his disappearance. Evidently, the soldier provided military investigators an oral statement, but was soon after deployed to the Middle East. When the person of interest returned to the US, he refused to provide written statements about the case, was discharged from the military, and then invoked his right to an attorney.
Authorities decided to speak to the now ex-soldier's ex-wife, and she made some startling statements.
In describing a previous altercation, she told authorities that her soldier-husband stated that she would end up like Rust unless she did as she was told. She further stated that her ex-husband had a deep hatred for those he thought were homosexuals, and had also threaten to assault another gay friend of hers.
In essence, she felt her ex-husband was certainly capable of violence against another person he accused of being homosexual.
----------------------
In sum, with the unknown cause of death, confusion as to the reason for the man's disappearance, and a person of interest who is refusing to talk with authorities, Sgt. Rust's case is difficult to resolve.
From the title of the series, it is obvious that I believe Sgt. Rust to be a crime victim.
In any event, my prayers are with his family, and for a resolution to this mysterious death.
_________________________________________
More information on this case can be found at Patrickrust.com or my other posts on Sgt. Rust are here. The family's website and their collection of news items is an excellent resource.
