'Person of interest' released on bail as search for missing men continues

BUCKS COUNTY, PA (WTXF/AP) - Police used cadaver dogs, a backhoe and other construction equipment Tuesday to help search a sprawling farm for four missing men believed to be victims of foul play. A prosecutor, meanwhile, described a man who was held on an unrelated gun charge, but has since been released on bail, as a person of interest in the investigation.

READ MORE: Parents of 'person of interest' called to Bucks County grand jury 

District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said bail was set at $1 million Monday for Cosmo DiNardo, whose family owns the farmland and another property that was searched, because he was considered a flight risk. But Weintraub did not call him a suspect and cautioned there is often a "chasm" between being called a "person of interest" in an investigation and being charged with a crime.

DiNardo, 20, is accused of illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition in February. A court affidavit said he had suffered from mental illness and had been involuntarily committed to an institution for inpatient care. It did not say when the commitment had occurred. The charge had been dismissed by a judge but was refiled.

Late Tuesday, DiNardo was released after he posted 10 percent of his bail amount in cash, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Twitter account.

The missing are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Taro Patrick, a student at Loyola University in Baltimore. Patrick disappeared on Wednesday, the other three on Friday.

Sturgis and Meo are longtime friends who work at the Sturgis family's construction business, and Finocchiaro is a mutual friend, Sturgis' father has said.

Police have received "a ton of leads" and are making progress, but the entire 90-acre (0.14-square-mile) property is of interest to investigators, Weintraub said. He said investigators were also working across the county.

The farm property is owned by DiNardo's parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo. Neither the DiNardos nor their son's lawyer could be reached for comment.

Peter Dragani, a Bensalem real estate agent who said he coached Cosmo DiNardo in a youth football league and has stayed in touch with the family over the years, described the jailed young man as a "model citizen."

"He comes from a good family, a strong, very strict family," he told The Associated Press. "I never met anybody that didn't like him."

Asked if the four missing men could still be alive, Weintraub said, "I think it's very important to hang on to hope."

The FBI, state police and at least five local law enforcement agencies were also taking part in the search.

Weintraub urged anyone who has information that could be helpful to the investigation to call 215-297-8201.