Post by Scumhunter on May 29, 2016 19:32:58 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: poconorecord.com)
From the AMW archives:
Hunter Gunned Down Near Poconos Game Park
Police are seeking the public's help in locating the person responsible for killing Lee Thomas VanLuvender, 22, near a game park in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Investigators say on Dec. 4, 2007, a hunter stumbled out of the woods and on to a crime scene. In a parking lot near a game reserve, he found the powdery, white snow sprayed crimson red with blood. As the man moved closer, he spotted Lee VanLuvender's lifeless body sprawled next to his own car.
According to authorities, the night before he was killed, Lee told his parents he planned to go hunting the next day, which they say was not unusual.
Police believe Lee left home around 7:00 a.m. after a brief telephone conversation with his girlfriend. Cops say Lee then stopped in to a nearby store where he bought a can of chewing tobacco before heading into the woods.
By 10:15 a.m., cops say Lee was dead.
Cops: This Was No Hunting Accident
Police say Lee made it a mere 20 yards into the woods when he backtracked to his car. What police don't know is, why? Was Lee going to retrieve something he had forgotten? Was someone there who waved him back to the parking area? Or had Lee stumbled on to a crime in progress? Police just don't know.
But police do know the place where Lee's body was found -- just off of Hypsie Gap Road in Tunkhannock Township. Cops say it is not a well-traveled area. The road is eight miles long, and is surrounded by deep woods on both sides. Cops say sportsmen or locals might use the road when they want to avoid traffic, but the remoteness of the area may have given Lee's killer enough time and privacy to commit his crime and disappear.
Police believe Lee was lying in the snow for forty minutes after he was killed and place the time of death between 9:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
While investigators retrieved some evidence from the crime scene, other possible clues were obscured by the constant snowfall that day.
Cops tell AMW, Lee was a good kid, an avid hunter and fisherman who had no enemies. Lee had just started a new job as a toll collector with Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission at the Lehigh Valley Exchange. He also considered joining the U.S. Marines. He was raising a 2-year-old son, Sean, with his girlfriend of five years. Charlene Sebring, Lee's mother, says sadly, Sean will never know his daddy.
According to Charlene, Lee's two sisters, Christy and Amber, looked up to their big brother. Charlene says Lee took care of Amber who suffered from diabetes since she was 4 years old. For her part, Charlene says Lee took care of her in 2002 when she nearly died from an illness.
"He was the son everyone wished they would have," she says.
Although Lee was hunting in nearby woods, neither the police, nor Lee's family believe Lee's murder was a hunting accident.
From Sleepy Hollow to Bustling Metropolis
Cops say the Pocono Mountains region, once the best-kept vacation secret in Pennsylvania, known for its pristine beauty and resort feel, has exploded over the last few years.
They say its growth, due in part to the introduction of a new casino in the area, has transformed the resort town from a sleepy hollow to a bustling metropolis, drawing gamblers from New York and New Jersey, but cops say it also draws transients as well.
Police believe the killer could be someone from the area who is familiar with the game park, or a drifter passing through the area.
Police currently have no suspects in the case.
web.archive.org/web/20090103041750/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=54687
Thoughts? Lee's murder was profiled on the old website of America's Most Wanted. According to a late 2014 article, the case is still unsolved: wnep.com/2014/12/04/plea-for-clues-in-pocono-cold-case-murder/
Admin Note #1: According to article, anyone with information on Lee VanLuvender's murder should contact the Monroe County District Attorney's Office (Pennsylvania) at (570) 517-3052 or the Pocono Mountain Regional Police at (570) 895-2400
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
