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Mother of Phylicia Thomas wants new DA to go over investigation of daughter’s disappearance.
WILKES-BARRE – Pauline Bailey arrived at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Thursday morning hoping request the new district attorney, Stefanie Salavantis, reopen the investigation into the 2004 disappearance of her daughter, Phylicia Thomas.
She never got the chance.
“I was told she wasn’t there and she had no time,” said Bailey, who felt she got the runaround by being referred to the county detectives bureau and then to the state police. Salavantis could not be reached later Thursday for comment.
Bailey, of Nanticoke, and a small group of family and friends celebrated what would have been Thomas’ 30th birthday. What better day to request a renewed effort to find Thomas than on her birthday, Bailey said.
“We would like the new district attorney to look into anything she can,” said family friend Kelly Gower. “Eight years is way too long. All we want is Phylicia back.”
Thomas has been missing since she disappeared from her Lake Township home Feb. 11, 2004. Another young woman from Lake Township, Jennifer Barziloski, was reported missing when she was last seen outside an Edwardsville tavern in June 2001.
Bailey said she feared Thomas was the victim of foul play because she believed Barziloski was killed by a man known to both women.
“It really bummed her out, and she was confident she was going to find Jen,” Bailey said. “I think she pushed it too far and here we are.”
A human skull found in a wooded area near Roaring Brook Drive on April 2, 2010, was identified as Barziloski’s through dental records, state police said.
Troopers actively searched the area after the skull was found but turned up no more evidence to her disappearance.
Bailey said she believes the skull was not washed downstream but was thrown from a vehicle.
The area where the skull was found is near the former residence of Steve Martin, who state police said was a person of interest in the disappearances of both women.
Martin was reportedly the last person to be seen with Barziloski outside the tavern, and was friends with Thomas’ boyfriend. Martin was never charged with their disappearances. He took his own life while jailed in state prison in August 2005, shortly after he was sentenced for causing a deadly wreck in Wilkes-Barre.
Bailey said she feels investigators gave up searching for Thomas when Martin committed suicide.
A candlelight vigil for Thomas is set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the pavilion near the pond in Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre.
