FBI offers $15k reward in puzzling 2012 abduction and murder of Chesterfield store owner
FBI offers $15k reward in puzzling 2012 abduction and murder of Chesterfield store owner
Mark Bowes 5 hrs ago
The FBI said Tuesday that it was offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of a Chesterfield County store owner who was abducted eight years ago from his business and found slain four days later near the James River in Richmond. ... The reward announcement comes a day ahead of the eight-year anniversary of Pareshkumar Patels abduction on Sept. 16, 2012, from the RaceWay gas station he operated in the 5600 block of Jefferson Davis Highway.
Early in the case, the Richmond Office of the FBI combined resources with police in Richmond and Chesterfield to investigate Patels killing, and recent investigative efforts by these agencies have progressed this case significantly, an FBI spokeswoman said Tuesday, without elaboration. The reward is being offered in hopes of eliciting enough additional information to solve the case.
Patels puzzling abduction turned from a missing person case into a homicide investigation on Sept. 20, 2012, when his decomposed remains were discovered by a Richmond city worker in a heavily used area just north of Ancarrows Landing near the river. He was shot to death.
Nearly four days earlier, Chesterfield police said a witness reported seeing at least two men wearing dark clothing and hoodies force Patel into a dark-colored van shortly before 6 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2012, as he was opening his RaceWay station and convenience store. He was never seen or heard from again.
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mbowes@timesdispatch.com
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