Search for Dan Toya goes underwater
A flier seeking information about Dan Toya hangs in the lobby of the downtown Moses Lake Post Office. Hundreds of such fliers still dot the Columbia Basin two months after the 64-year-old man went missing.
MOSES LAKE - It's been more than two months since Dan Toya went missing after taking his dog for a walk following a veterinary visit.
A pickup truck belonging to the 64-year-old Moses Lake man was found Dec. 23 at the Potholes Reservoir near Road K.5 Southeast, but the resultant ground, air and water searches failed to find signs of either Toya or the dog.
In late December the Grant County Sheriff's Office enlisted the help of a sonar boat from Boise, Idaho, which spent hours scanning a portion of the reservoir near where Toya's truck was found.
The sheriff's marine unit has since gone out on the water to check the reservoir on a weekly basis, according to Chief Deputy Ryan Rectenwald. He said detectives are meanwhile making sure there is no suspicious activity on Toya's credit cards or on the cellphone he had with him at the time of his disappearance.
Despite continued work by detectives and a cash reward offered last month by Toya's family, there have been few leads in the case since he went missing.
Rectenwald and others are now hoping a state-of-the-art robot will yield new information.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office recently acquired the $83,000 search-and-rescue robot, called SARbot, to help with water rescues.
Franklin County Sheriff Richard Lathim explained the robot comes equipped with a high resolution camera, lights, sonar and a mechanical arm to conduct searches as deep as several hundred feet under water.
Any law enforcement agency in Eastern Washington and Northern Oregon will have access to the robot, and Lathim said Franklin County deputies are just waiting for word from the Grant County Sheriff's Office before scheduling a time to deploy the robot in the Potholes Reservoir.
Rectenwald said the search may take place as soon as this week if a thick layer of surface ice breaks up.
"The ice has been receding but we've had a couple of cold days. We're watching it closely," he said.
The SARbot has already proven its potential. Just days after Franklin County purchased the robot, deputies put the remote-controlled device to work when they received a report of a submerged vehicle.
The robot revealed no one was inside a stolen Cadillac Escalade found upside down in 20 feet of water near Mesa, according to the sheriff's office. SARbot reportedly found two more vehicles in the same pond at a depth of about 40 feet and confirmed no one was inside either one.
Dan Toya's wife, Hazel, said she and other family members are hopeful some new information might be revealed by the robot, or as weather warms and reservoir water levels change.
She expressed appreciation for the continued outpouring of support and prayers by numerous people, and said she's holding up as well as can be expected.
"You just have to go day by day, that's all anyone can do," she said. "Others have gone through terrible tragedies of their own. I just have to trust that God knows what's happening."
Dan Toya is a 64-year-old Asian man who stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes. He was said to be in good health and good spirits at the time of his disappearance.
Anyone with information about Dan Toya is asked to contact Detective Kim Cook at the Grant County Sheriff's Office at 509-754-2011 ext. 468, or send information to crimetips@co.grant.wa.us. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
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