Girard mother still searching for son who disappeared in Hawaii

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Every day, Patricia “Pat” Marks ponders what happened to her son, Daniel Joseph Marks. She wonders daily if and when she will learn his fate.

This month marks five years since he disappeared.

Daniel Marks went missing Nov. 10, 2005, on Kauai, Hawaii. The 24-year-old traveled to the small island to hike and camp, activities he often did. Something went terribly wrong. Pat Marks and her family are still trying to find out what.

“My mother’s heart feels he could be alive,” Pat Marks said. “When I close my eyes, I see his face.”

Pat Marks said she learned a startling fact. When a child goes missing, she said, an extensive search is mandated. For an adult, it’s different. Det. Claire Veno of the Lihue Police Department on Kauai, who still is on the case, handles all the missing-persons cases on the island. All she is

required to do is take the report, distribute posters and a press release on the missing person. “Basically, it’s up to the family to search,” Pat Marks said.

Daniel, a 1999 graduate of Girard High School,

majored in music at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Daniel, who was living in Portland, Ore., had planned to enter graduate school at Portland State University in January 2006.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.