Its been two weeks since a Georgia man went missing near Center Hill Lake but the search goes on and members of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad were assisted Saturday by volunteers from Florida and Georgia including the CUE Center for Missing Persons who brought in cadaver dogs.
22 year old Vincent “Vinnie” Rossetti of Peachtree City, Georgia was last seen on Sunday, December 18 and his car, a Lexus, was found later in the parking lot of Sligo Marina beside Highway 70. Rossetti is 6′ 2″, weighs 180 pounds, and has blond hair and blue eyes.
Authorities do not know if Rossetti is still alive or what has happened to him. Members of Rossetti’s family including his mother Pam Rossetti; cousin, John Orr, and a family friend, Julie Cerame have been in DeKalb County the last few days talking to people and distributing “Missing Person” flyers at local businesses hoping to find someone who may have seen Rossetti or knows of his whereabouts.
The search is concentrated on the lake in the area of Sligo bridge and Marina. “We are actively searching for Mr. Rossetti. We filed a missing person report through the Sheriff’s Office here in DeKalb County because of his vehicle being found in the Sligo Parking lot. We are not sure if Mr. Rossetti is in the water or not. We have entered Rossetti into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) as missing. Agencies have searched the banks and water by foot, boat, and air with no luck finding him,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray.
According to Dustin Johnson, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad Captain, the search has been on-going almost daily since Rossetti was reported missing. In addition to a visual search, sonar has been used to detect any objects in the water or at the bottom of the lake. Wayne Hubbs even flew his gyrocopter early in the search to get an aerial view of the area. Others who have assisted over the last two weeks include the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Members of the Rossett family apparently contacted the CUE Center to help in the search. CUE, which stands for “Community United Effort” is made up of a nationwide network of volunteers who assist families of the missing providing search and recovery, case management, media relations, educational, and advocacy services to families of the missing at no charge.
The last known sighting of Rossetti was by a Trooper of the Tennessee Highway Patrol on Sunday, December 18 near the DeKalb/White County line. “At 3:05 p.m. on Sunday December 18th, the Tennessee Highway Patrol checked on a vehicle that was parked on the side of the roadway in White County close to the DeKalb County/White County line. The driver was found to be Vincent McKeever Rossetti. Rossetti was entered into the Georgia Crime Information Center as a missing person out of Georgia. The Trooper called an ambulance to the scene to check Rossetti out. White County EMS transported Rossetti to Highland Medical Center in Sparta. One of the White County EMS personnel drove Rossetti’s vehicle to the hospital for him. Rossetti was treated and released from the hospital before his family could pick him up. When Rossetti’s family arrived at the hospital, the White County Sheriff’s Department issued a BOLO (Be on the lookout) on Rossetti to all law enforcement agencies,” said Sheriff Ray.
“At around 11:52 p.m. on Sunday night, December 18 Troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol found the car in the parking lot of Sligo marina. The vehicle was left unattended and Rossetti was nowhere to be found. A ground search was conducted by officers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. The Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad was summoned to Sligo Marina at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning, December 19,” Sheriff Ray said.
If you have seen Rossetti or have information that could help locate him, call DeKalb Central Dispatch at 615-215-3000 or the CUE Center for Missing Persons 24 hour TIP LINE at 1-910-232-1687.