Warren City Police are hoping a scheduled 31-mile cleanup of the Allegheny River next week might yield some unexpected results.
Warren Chief of Police Raymond Zydonik said on Thursday that he would like volunteers involved in the first annual Allegheny River Cleanup, scheduled for Sept. 15-19, to be aware that police are still trying to locate the body of a missing Warren man.
Zydonik noted that this spring marked the seventh anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Damien Sharp. Warren City police have an active file still open on the disappearance, which was classified as a homicide in 2003.
"We are just asking people to be mindful," Zydonik said. "While you're out there cleaning up, keep an eye out. The family and the police are still out there searching for their loved one."
The river cleanup will target the Allegheny River from the Kinzua Dam to the bridge in Tidioute over a five-day span.
Information from early in the investigation of Sharp's disappearance led police to believe he was murdered.
Sharp was last seen in Warren during the Memorial Day weekend in 2002 when he was reportedly dropped off at a party on May 25. He was 22 years old at the time. Sharp's family reported his disappearance on June 3, 2002. Since then, police have searched the areas of the Allegheny Reservoir, the Allegheny National Forest and Morrison Run.
Sharp was last seen carrying a black backpack and was using aluminum crutches. He was wearing a dark shirt and dark shorts. He is described as blond with hazel-blue eyes, 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, and has an Egyptian ankh symbol tattooed on his chest.
Zydonik asked anyone with information regarding Sharp's disappearance to call the Warren County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-83-CRIME or Warren City police at 723-2700.