HOBOKEN – The search for missing 27-year-old Andrew Jarzyk, who disappeared after going for a run along the Hoboken waterfront in the wee hours Sunday morning, has become largely “a waiting game,” said Hoboken Police Sgt. Anthony Falco Jr. on Wednesday. The search perimeter, which includes the Hudson River, has been widened since Monday, said Falco, but so far there have been no major breaks in the case.
However, police have spotted Jarzyk via two surveillance cameras along the Hoboken waterfront. The last images of him showed him jogging near Pier C Park on the central waterfront, and Pier A Park at the south end of the waterfront, a popular spot for joggers that is a block from the city’s massive train terminal. He’s last seen on video around 2:09 a.m. on that rainy Sunday night.
The timeline so far:
After midnight:Jarzyk was out with friends at the West Five Supper Club, near on the western border of town (approximately twelve blocks west of the waterfront). His apartment is located approximately two blocks from the club. He returned home around 1 a.m. to change into running clothes, where he was spotted by a neighbor as he took off for a run. One source told the Reporter that he was spotted on the fire escape at one point, possibly having been locked out.
He apparently then ran toward the waterfront, which is 13 blocks east of his street.
Media reports have speculated that Jarzyk was intoxicated, but friends of Jarzyk have disputed those claims, noting that texts sent by Jarzyk that evening were coherent and normal.
Jarzyk’s girlfriend posted on Facebook the next day, “My boyfriend Andrew Jarzyk is missing. He was last seen at 12 by his friends and 1ish by his neighbors. The last text I received from him was at 1:43 am.”
Apparently, Jarzyk, who was training for a marathon, made the jog across the mile-square town to the Hudson River, then began running alongside the multiple riverfront parks. A camera spotted him at Pier C Park, located near Fourth Street, and down at Pier A Park at First Street. That park is at the city’s southern corner near the train station. It was unclear in press reports which camera captured him first, which would help confirm the direction in which he was running.
There are no sightings after the last 2:09 a.m. video.
Posts on an internet Websleuthing board by an anonymous person say that friends who tried to call Jarzyk heard a ringing phone until approximately 2:45 a.m., when they could no longer get through, but this has not been confirmed by the Reporter.
By Monday, a missing person report was filed and three law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD, were searching the Hudson River for any signs of Jarzyk.
On Wednesday, PIX 11 news aired the surveillance footage from Pier C Park (map), footage that can be seen here. Police have not released footage from Pier A park.
Exactly a month ago, a man was thrown into the river around 2 a.m. on a Sunday at Pier C Park by three unknown assailants following a day in which numerous people were drinking at the city’s bars in celebration of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. The alleged assailants have not been caught (see related stories linked below).
Jarzyk is described as 6 feet 2 inches tall and 175 pounds with a tall, slender build. He is Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information on Jarzyk’s disappearance is being asked to contact the Hoboken Police Department detective bureau at (201) 420-2110. – Dean DeChiaro