NY K9 Acknowledged for Helping to Solve a 6 Year Murder Mystery

A 2017 Cold Case finally comes to a close

A New York State Trooper along with his highly trained K9 is credited with assisting police to solve a 6-year-old murder mystery, bringing a sense of relief and closure to a community in Pennsylvania haunted by a homicide that happened in 2017.

"No one in law enforcement ever gave up trying to solve this mystery," said District Attorney Mark Powell, Lackawanna County.

According to a report from WNEP News, back on March 31st, Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell announced the arrest of 37-year-old Justin Schuback and charged him with the 2017 murder of Robert Baron Sr.

A burglary gone bad

Police say the incident stemmed from a botched burglary in January 2017.

According to sources, Baron's family reported him missing in 2017, and "police found evidence of a crime in the family's restaurant, Ghigiarelli's Pizza, in Old Forge, but Robert was missing."

When police interviewed possible suspects, they determined that Justin Schuback and Baron were at odds, with Schuback claiming that Baron Jr. ripped him off in a drug deal.

But Baron's body was still missing, and additional help was brought in in hopes of finally ending this 6-year cold case.

Search efforts continued, and State Police found a body

At the end of March, it was announced that a renewed search effort, consisting of State Trooper Dale Buck and K9 Rylo out of Troop E in Auburn, NY was able to locate Baron's body, and through forensic DNA analysis, they linked Schuback back to the 2017 crime.

Shout Out to Trooper Buck and K9 Rylo

The DA says they are continuing this investigation to decide if more arrests could be made in the future.

The New York State Police created the Division Canine Unit nearly 50 years ago, and immediately 3 three canines were put into service as explosives detection canines in preparation for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.

The Unit has grown from those original three teams to its current strength consisting of Rylo, and more than 90 other highly skilled, well-trained canines across the state.