Post by LadyBlue on Jul 14, 2007 16:25:49 GMT -5
MANATEE COUNTY -- New information in the search for a missing East Manatee woman has led investigators to two seemingly unrelated locales -- the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and a rural area near Lakewood Ranch.
GPS tracking data from Susan Fast's sport utility vehicle shows the vehicle was at the bridge and at a site at the south end of Lorraine Road in Sarasota County between 6 p.m. June 29 and 3 a.m. June 30.
Fast, 60, was last seen at her home in the Tara subdivision the afternoon of Friday, June 29. Her husband, Bruce Fast, reported her missing later that evening upon returning to an empty home after a business trip in the Bahamas.
Susan Fast's SUV was later found in east Bradenton. Police found blood spots in her home and suspect she may have been slain.
Officials are awaiting test results on the source of the blood, and results of other forensic evidence tests.
Two weeks into the investigation, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office is keenly aware of the public interest in the case and the fact that the key suspect, Fast's stepson Thomas Fast, is now jailed only on an unrelated weapons charge.
Bail for Thomas Fast was raised July 1 from $2,000 to $100,000 on the weapons charge because he is considered a flight risk.
Thomas Fast is not charged with murder, but authorities say they will soon charge him with the theft of Susan Fast's SUV. Police say a witness saw a man matching Thomas Fast's description get out of the SUV in the east Bradenton neighborhood where the vehicle was found.
Sheriff Brad Steube insists the trail of evidence is not growing cold, and said he has about a half-dozen detectives working the case.
"We have to continue to build a case against him (Thomas Fast), and that is what we're doing," Steube said.
The Sheriff's Office has not said what, if anything, it has discovered at the Skyway bridge or along Lorraine Road.
Both sites offer ample places to conceal evidence, however. The south end of Lorraine is a largely undeveloped area punctuated by ponds and broad wooded areas near the Sarasota Polo Club.
Detectives are checking the north and south ends of the Skyway bridge, spots often unseen by drivers on Interstate 275 during the late night hours.
Investigators have already searched the ponds, fields and woods in the Tara subdivision, located just south of State Road 70 to the west of Interstate 75. Previous searches across East Manatee took them through trash bins, garbage trucks and the Lena Road landfill.
Acting on a hunch last week, sheriff's detectives checked for clues in the brush on Linger Lodge Road near the Interstate 75 overpass.
While they remain hopeful of making an arrest, they are increasingly pessimistic about Susan Fast's fate.
"We all understand that, as time goes on, things get grimmer and grimmer," Steube said.
Even so, Susan Fast's family believes detectives are moving the investigation forward as quickly they can.
"I absolutely salute the Sheriff's Office and the work they're doing on this matter," said Richard Fast, Thomas Fast's brother.
Meanwhile, Thomas Fast is not talking to the police.
Fast was arrested after authorities discovered his truck parked in a shopping mall not far from the Tara subdivision.
While police were with the truck, Fast arrived in a taxi. He was carrying two duffel bags, one of which held a gun Fast was not licensed to carry. He was arrested on the weapons charge.
During a search of Thomas Fast's truck, authorities say they found two pairs of handcuffs, a knife and plastic zip-ties.
While in jail, he has had one scheduled visitor, a woman who authorities say did not show up.
The public defender's office in Bradenton, which is representing Fast, says the $100,000 bail is excessive. Assistant public defender Franklin Roberts, assigned to Fast's case, plans to file court papers to push for lowering his bail.
But the $100,000 bail is not unusual given a combination of circumstances, one legal expert says.
Stetson University law professor Charles Rose said a judge would likely set the high bail because Fast is a suspect in his stepmother's disappearance, has a previous criminal history, was unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and lives a nomadic lifestyle.
Fast's criminal history includes grand theft and writing worthless checks.
His release or a reduction in bail could be months away even if he is not charged in his stepmother's case.
"There is a lot of leeway for the state when they are making a good faith effort in the investigation," Rose said. "If two months down the line they are still looking, then they might have a problem."
Thomas Fast's family has implied that he may be responsible for the disappearance of his stepmother.
They have painted him as a transient who had no friends and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He had a troubled relationship with his family, especially Susan Fast, they say.
www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070712/NEWS/707120545
GPS tracking data from Susan Fast's sport utility vehicle shows the vehicle was at the bridge and at a site at the south end of Lorraine Road in Sarasota County between 6 p.m. June 29 and 3 a.m. June 30.
Fast, 60, was last seen at her home in the Tara subdivision the afternoon of Friday, June 29. Her husband, Bruce Fast, reported her missing later that evening upon returning to an empty home after a business trip in the Bahamas.
Susan Fast's SUV was later found in east Bradenton. Police found blood spots in her home and suspect she may have been slain.
Officials are awaiting test results on the source of the blood, and results of other forensic evidence tests.
Two weeks into the investigation, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office is keenly aware of the public interest in the case and the fact that the key suspect, Fast's stepson Thomas Fast, is now jailed only on an unrelated weapons charge.
Bail for Thomas Fast was raised July 1 from $2,000 to $100,000 on the weapons charge because he is considered a flight risk.
Thomas Fast is not charged with murder, but authorities say they will soon charge him with the theft of Susan Fast's SUV. Police say a witness saw a man matching Thomas Fast's description get out of the SUV in the east Bradenton neighborhood where the vehicle was found.
Sheriff Brad Steube insists the trail of evidence is not growing cold, and said he has about a half-dozen detectives working the case.
"We have to continue to build a case against him (Thomas Fast), and that is what we're doing," Steube said.
The Sheriff's Office has not said what, if anything, it has discovered at the Skyway bridge or along Lorraine Road.
Both sites offer ample places to conceal evidence, however. The south end of Lorraine is a largely undeveloped area punctuated by ponds and broad wooded areas near the Sarasota Polo Club.
Detectives are checking the north and south ends of the Skyway bridge, spots often unseen by drivers on Interstate 275 during the late night hours.
Investigators have already searched the ponds, fields and woods in the Tara subdivision, located just south of State Road 70 to the west of Interstate 75. Previous searches across East Manatee took them through trash bins, garbage trucks and the Lena Road landfill.
Acting on a hunch last week, sheriff's detectives checked for clues in the brush on Linger Lodge Road near the Interstate 75 overpass.
While they remain hopeful of making an arrest, they are increasingly pessimistic about Susan Fast's fate.
"We all understand that, as time goes on, things get grimmer and grimmer," Steube said.
Even so, Susan Fast's family believes detectives are moving the investigation forward as quickly they can.
"I absolutely salute the Sheriff's Office and the work they're doing on this matter," said Richard Fast, Thomas Fast's brother.
Meanwhile, Thomas Fast is not talking to the police.
Fast was arrested after authorities discovered his truck parked in a shopping mall not far from the Tara subdivision.
While police were with the truck, Fast arrived in a taxi. He was carrying two duffel bags, one of which held a gun Fast was not licensed to carry. He was arrested on the weapons charge.
During a search of Thomas Fast's truck, authorities say they found two pairs of handcuffs, a knife and plastic zip-ties.
While in jail, he has had one scheduled visitor, a woman who authorities say did not show up.
The public defender's office in Bradenton, which is representing Fast, says the $100,000 bail is excessive. Assistant public defender Franklin Roberts, assigned to Fast's case, plans to file court papers to push for lowering his bail.
But the $100,000 bail is not unusual given a combination of circumstances, one legal expert says.
Stetson University law professor Charles Rose said a judge would likely set the high bail because Fast is a suspect in his stepmother's disappearance, has a previous criminal history, was unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and lives a nomadic lifestyle.
Fast's criminal history includes grand theft and writing worthless checks.
His release or a reduction in bail could be months away even if he is not charged in his stepmother's case.
"There is a lot of leeway for the state when they are making a good faith effort in the investigation," Rose said. "If two months down the line they are still looking, then they might have a problem."
Thomas Fast's family has implied that he may be responsible for the disappearance of his stepmother.
They have painted him as a transient who had no friends and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He had a troubled relationship with his family, especially Susan Fast, they say.
www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070712/NEWS/707120545