Unsolved: Looking For My Uncle Barry James Sheridan - Missing Since 12/11/1990 In N.Y.C.

shamrock61186

shamrock61186

New Member
MY UNCLE BARRY JAMES SHERIDAN WENT MISSING AT AROUND 9PM ON 12/11/1990 IN N.Y.C. He was working on a barge called the Rhode Island and it was docked at pier 6 in Brooklyn Harbor. It was my cousin Ashlee's (his daughter's) 5th birthday - he left the barge to call her and never returned. There are several suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and we have no doubt that he was murdered.

There's no way he would've ever just walked away from his life and his family, especially his 4 daughters whom he wrote and called frequently even when he was out working for long periods of time on the barge. The NYPD's investigation has been questionable and flawed from the very start and it seems obvious that they knew more than they were admitting. Their strategy has been simple: say that he fell in the harbor, drowned, his body got swept right out to sea, case closed, nobody asks any more questions. Except we DID ask questions, and my family members pursued the case, however they were repeatedly told in no uncertain terms to "drop it."

This is only 1 of the many questionable things that have happened during the course of the investigation. I drafted a memo with all of the important case details and I also have a mountain of documents beyond that - investigative reports, family members' notes, search & rescue results, etc.

I believe that the barge's captain at the time, George Forbes, holds the key to this case and I suspect that their employer Moran Towing has secrets they aren't telling. There's people out there who KNOW what happened to my uncle - it's just a matter of finding them. So I'm not going to give up and as long as I'm alive I'll continue to work on this case in any way possible.

MY FAMILY AND I ARE DESPERATE FOR HELP! ANY SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

~ Jenna ~
 

shamrock61186 said:
MY UNCLE BARRY JAMES SHERIDAN WENT MISSING AT AROUND 9PM ON 12/11/1990 IN N.Y.C. He was working on a barge called the Rhode Island and it was docked at pier 6 in Brooklyn Harbor. It was my cousin Ashlee's (his daughter's) 5th birthday - he left the barge to call her and never returned. There are several suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and we have no doubt that he was murdered. There's no way he would've ever just walked away from his life and his family, especially his 4 daughters whom he wrote and called frequently even when he was out working for long periods of time on the barge. The NYPD's investigation has been questionable and flawed from the very start and it seems obvious that they knew more than they were admitting. Their strategy has been simple: say that he fell in the harbor, drowned, his body got swept right out to sea, case closed, nobody asks any more questions. Except we DID ask questions, and my family members pursued the case, however they were repeatedly told in no uncertain terms to "drop it." This is only 1 of the many questionable things that have happened during the course of the investigation. I drafted a memo with all of the important case details and I also have a mountain of documents beyond that - investigative reports, family members' notes, search & rescue results, etc. I believe that the barge's captain at the time, George Forbes, holds the key to this case and I suspect that their employer Moran Towing has secrets they aren't telling. There's people out there who KNOW what happened to my uncle - it's just a matter of finding them. So I'm not going to give up and as long as I'm alive I'll continue to work on this case in any way possible. MY FAMILY AND I ARE DESPERATE FOR HELP! ANY SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

~ Jenna ~
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Look for motive, could it be he was badly injured and his company didn't have liability? Or was he in hock to the mob? (It's NY you know)

NYPD back then filed a lot of reports in the circular file (Trashcan) as even the FBI didn't trust them. But it's been 32 years, doubtful anyone remembers what he even looked like.
 
Disgustedman said:
Look for motive, could it be he was badly injured and his company didn't have liability? Or was he in hock to the mob? (It's NY you know)

NYPD back then filed a lot of reports in the circular file (Trashcan) as even the FBI didn't trust them. But it's been 32 years, doubtful anyone remembers what he even looked like.
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I agree - there are several different suspicious circumstances that surround the case so there are multiple possible motives. Most notable info:
  • My uncle was unhappy with his employer Moran Towing’s treatment of waste. They were dumping into the ocean too close to shore (law at the time stated they had to go out to sea at least 100 miles). Barry had confided in some friends/family about his feelings on the matter and said that he was going to report the company's illegal activities to the appropriate officials.
  • At the time of his disappearance, Barry was a "scab" - that is, he was still working while the majority of the Moran employees were on strike and making demands from the union. The term “scab” is derogatory as scabs throughout history have always been looked down upon by the union workers, despite their flexibility and hard work. Barry's dedication to his job was a possible threat to the strikers’ cause.
  • Moran Towing was less than helpful to the investigation and didn’t seem at all concerned about their missing employee. They were slow to respond and delayed the investigators & family entrance to the barge and other vessels…but why?!
  • Barry's only shipmate at the time, the barge’s captain George Forbes, was very vague when interviewed about the day of the disappearance and didn't seem to be able to recount the day's events. He seemed to know more than he was saying and he also changed his story during another interview. My opinion has always been that George Forbes knows exactly what happened to Barry.
  • My family posted missing person fliers all over the area including local establishments. Many of these fliers were purposely taken down by suspicious men posing as detectives. While misrepresenting themselves and making their way around the canvassed area removing fliers, these men told the local business owners that the case had been solved and/or Barry’s body had been found. We confirmed w/NYPD that these unknown men were not legitimate detectives. We still have not been able to identify them.
  • Over 2 weeks after the disappearance, Moran Towing sent a package to my aunt Sandi containing the shirt & jacket that Barry was described as wearing when he went missing. Our family had already taken possession of all of his clothes & belongings from the barge at an earlier date and these 2 items had not been located at that time, nor were they spotted anywhere else on the barge or in the surrounding area by anyone else. So where did they come from all of a sudden? Sandi never received any call, letter, or explanation from Moran to indicate where or when these items were found.
  • As you would expect, my family members were not satisfied with the course of the investigation and some of our relatives that actually lived in New York attempted to follow up & pursue the case. However, they were repeatedly told to drop it and "stop asking questions,” which begs the question “Or what?!”
  • It was a known fact that the mob/mafia controlled the docks at that time which in and of itself adds another layer of possibilities to this case. We were also told that guards monitored the piers and corresponding warehouses. The adjacent parking lot (through which Barry would’ve walked to get to the phone booths) was always being used as a rest spot by police, ambulances and city workers to eat meals, complete paperwork, etc. Given the busy comings & goings of this area, shouldn’t there be at least 1 witness who can confirm that Barry left the barge that night? If not, I believe it to be just as significant considering the alternative possibility that he met with foul play BEFORE he was able to leave the barge.
  • The NYPD’s theory from the very start was that Barry fell into the water, drowned and was swept right out to sea. There were no clues or indications that this was true. To this day, we haven’t been given an explanation as to why the detectives were so adamant about this theory or what led them to this conclusion. Given his experience with diving and swimming, this theory is actually one of the LEAST likely scenarios. However, this was the story Det. Muldoon presented to the court 10 years later when my uncle was declared legally dead.
  • The NYPD chose not to perform an extensive search. This left my family the difficult & expensive task of hiring teams of divers, boat searches, sonar scans, etc. as well as formally requesting the help of the Coast Guard who conducted a separate investigation. My family also had to hire a private investigator in order to get boots on the ground as the detectives were committed to the notion that his body was already claimed by the sea.
 
Pepper said:
Waste management in NYC is mob controlled. So are the piers. Construction, too.
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Agreed! However I do believe the barge captain George Forbes knows exactly what happened and was afraid to talk. I think he holds the key to this, just not sure how to find him.
 
officerripley said:
Also maybe check with the Unsolved Mysteries tv show on Netflix? Good luck to you, so sorry for your loss.
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Thank you so much for your condolences. I greatly appreciate your suggestion - I will try to look for a phone # or email address to contact the show. I've done the same with a couple of other shows and never received responses from most. Dateline did say they'd include an article on his case in their "Cold Case Spotlight" and I submitted all the necessary info, however they never reached out for an interview like they claimed they would. Very frustrating!
 
shamrock61186 said:
Agreed! However I do believe the barge captain George Forbes knows exactly what happened and was afraid to talk. I think he holds the key to this, just not sure how to find him.
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You could try searching the Social Security death files. When a person dies, they stop paying into SS, and the Government stops issuing checks to them. A second method is to do a internet search for an obituary for the man. Ancestry.com is another way to look for him. JImB.
 
shamrock61186 said:
MY UNCLE BARRY JAMES SHERIDAN WENT MISSING AT AROUND 9PM ON 12/11/1990 IN N.Y.C. He was working on a barge called the Rhode Island and it was docked at pier 6 in Brooklyn Harbor. It was my cousin Ashlee's (his daughter's) 5th birthday - he left the barge to call her and never returned. There are several suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and we have no doubt that he was murdered.

There's no way he would've ever just walked away from his life and his family, especially his 4 daughters whom he wrote and called frequently even when he was out working for long periods of time on the barge. The NYPD's investigation has been questionable and flawed from the very start and it seems obvious that they knew more than they were admitting. Their strategy has been simple: say that he fell in the harbor, drowned, his body got swept right out to sea, case closed, nobody asks any more questions. Except we DID ask questions, and my family members pursued the case, however they were repeatedly told in no uncertain terms to "drop it."

This is only 1 of the many questionable things that have happened during the course of the investigation. I drafted a memo with all of the important case details and I also have a mountain of documents beyond that - investigative reports, family members' notes, search & rescue results, etc.

I believe that the barge's captain at the time, George Forbes, holds the key to this case and I suspect that their employer Moran Towing has secrets they aren't telling. There's people out there who KNOW what happened to my uncle - it's just a matter of finding them. So I'm not going to give up and as long as I'm alive I'll continue to work on this case in any way possible.

MY FAMILY AND I ARE DESPERATE FOR HELP! ANY SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

~ Jenna ~
Click to expand...
You've hired Private Investigators to work the case? Who told you to drop it? Did they give you any reasons like organized crime involvement in which case I would drop it. I had a family member go missing in 1969 so I understand your pain. It hurts never to know what really happened to a missing loved one.
 
jimintoronto said:
You could try searching the Social Security death files. When a person dies, they stop paying into SS, and the Government stops issuing checks to them. A second method is to do a internet search for an obituary for the man. Ancestry.com is another way to look for him. JImB.
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Thank you for the ideas. We requested an official SSN search through the credit bureaus/SSA and there's been no activity using his social since his disappearance. He was also declared legally dead 10 years after he went missing. I'm certain he's no longer alive and I've felt that way since the beginning because there were so many suspicious things that happened surrounding the case, and he would never leave his daughters. Someone hurt him, that I'm sure of. Just trying to find out who, when, how & why!
 
Trish said:
I hope you find your answers. I wonder why his employer sent the package containing your uncle's clothes which he was said to be wearing the last time he was seen.
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That's a huge mystery and only 1 of the several suspicious things that happened surrounding his case. At the time of his disappearance, his hat & jacket hadn't been located so regardless of what happened to him he was presumably still wearing them. None of the detectives or my family members saw these items when they searched the barge and surrounding area. My family did board the barge themselves and took possession of the rest of his personal items & clothing. So where, all of a sudden, 2 weeks later, were his hat & jacket found? The entire situation is fishy, but that's how I know it can be solved. There are people out there who have the answers, I just need to find them! Thank you for your interest in the case :)
 
chic said:
You've hired Private Investigators to work the case? Who told you to drop it? Did they give you any reasons like organized crime involvement in which case I would drop it. I had a family member go missing in 1969 so I understand your pain. It hurts never to know what really happened to a missing loved one.
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Yes we've hired PIs in the past and come up with nothing. I believe the detectives themselves were the ones who told my family members to stop asking questions and drop it. Their theory from the start was that he fell into the harbor, drowned, and got swept right out to sea. That was, and still IS, the biggest load of BS I've ever heard in my life. He was a skilled merchant marine, excellent swimmer, professional seaman and certified scuba diver who could hold his breath for minutes at a time. There's no way he just fell in and drowned. If he met his end in that water, it's only because someone did something to him first. The piers were definitely controlled by the mob back then (and possibly still are) so that's a certainly something we've considered. There are several possible motives and there's people out there who know exactly what happened to him, I just need to find them! I'm sorry to hear about your family member who also went missing. I'll pray that one day you'll find the answers you need 🙏
 
shamrock61186 said:
Yes we've hired PIs in the past and come up with nothing. I believe the detectives themselves were the ones who told my family members to stop asking questions and drop it. Their theory from the start was that he fell into the harbor, drowned, and got swept right out to sea. That was, and still IS, the biggest load of BS I've ever heard in my life. He was a skilled merchant marine, excellent swimmer, professional seaman and certified scuba diver who could hold his breath for minutes at a time. There's no way he just fell in and drowned. If he met his end in that water, it's only because someone did something to him first. The piers were definitely controlled by the mob back then (and possibly still are) so that's a certainly something we've considered. There are several possible motives and there's people out there who know exactly what happened to him, I just need to find them! I'm sorry to hear about your family member who also went missing. I'll pray that one day you'll find the answers you need 🙏
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He could have just fallen in and drowned and been swept out to sea if he had first been shot with a gun with a silencer.
It sounds like a possibility of foul play. I wonder what the PIs knew that made them tell you to drop it? :unsure:
 
My mother was hit and killed by a car driven by a mobster's sister who stayed at the scene. I was also told to "drop it" by our lawyer. I was shocked when I found out why I should drop it. I found out later due to my own investigation.
 
chic said:
He could have just fallen in and drowned and been swept out to sea if he had first been shot with a gun with a silencer.
It sounds like a possibility of foul play. I wonder what the PIs knew that made them tell you to drop it? :unsure:
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Yes he definitely could've ended up in the harbor if someone hurt him first, although we had teams of divers everywhere and used "fish finder" sonar scanners as well and came up with nothing, so we really don't know. I believe the detectives knew that someone powerful made him disappear, so to speak, and they kept their mouths shut. It would explain why they didn't pursue the case like they should've. My family actually had to hire divers and boat operators with the scanning equipment, and we also enlisted the help of the Coast Guard. The original detectives barely did anything at all, so it was left up to my family to organize the proper searches and foot the bill.
 
Pepper said:
My mother was hit and killed by a car driven by a mobster's sister who stayed at the scene. I was also told to "drop it" by our lawyer. I was shocked when I found out why I should drop it. I found out later due to my own investigation.
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That's terrible - I'm so sorry that this happened to your mother. It must've been very diappointing for you and your family when you felt forced to drop it. Mob connections or not, I'm shocked that your lawyer didn't fight harder for you and your mother. This level of corruption is astounding and no doubt put a lot of stress on your lawyer, but I'm a firm believer that there's always an alternative to letting the bad guys win. I'm glad to hear you continued to pursue justice for your mother and conduct your own investigation, which hopefully brought you some peace. I'm very sorry for your loss.
 
shamrock61186 said:
Yes he definitely could've ended up in the harbor if someone hurt him first, although we had teams of divers everywhere and used "fish finder" sonar scanners as well and came up with nothing, so we really don't know. I believe the detectives knew that someone powerful made him disappear, so to speak, and they kept their mouths shut. It would explain why they didn't pursue the case like they should've. My family actually had to hire divers and boat operators with the scanning equipment, and we also enlisted the help of the Coast Guard. The original detectives barely did anything at all, so it was left up to my family to organize the proper searches and foot the bill.
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Didn't you get other detectives? They vary in skill, dedication and success. Maybe it would be best to submit your relative's case to unsolved cold case specialists. Best luck. It's a terrible loss for you for sure.

peace bear hug.jpg
 
chic said:
Didn't you get other detectives? They vary in skill, dedication and success. Maybe it would be best to submit your relative's case to unsolved cold case specialists. Best luck. It's a terrible loss for you for sure.

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Thank you so much. Yes we did try other detectives, in fact this case has been passed on to more detectives than I can even count and we also hired our own PIs along the way. My family has been submitting the case to TV shows (Dateline, Unsolved Mysteries, etc.) ever since he disappeared but nobody has agreed to air it. I'm currently contacting true crime podcasts and I've had some interest so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
 


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