"He was fluent in Slovenian". That's a phrase you don't hear everyday, or in your entire life.

I don't know about the genetics, but having a brother commit suicide must seriously mess with your mind, long-term. Like, the whole point and value of life probably must come into question repeatedly...

I've always wondered why he used Patty's computer to do a search on how to destroy a hard drive, rather than on his own, which he did end up destroying.

Here's theory #4: He had something on his harddrive about someone else. This someone else told him to destroy the harddrive, perhaps threatening to kill him if he does not destroy it. He destroyed it but then that someone killed him anyway, just to be sure.

As a native of Lewisburg I can say this was one of the strangest things that’s happened here. I live one block away from where his car was found and from the abandoned train track/bridge. The Susquehanna river is a half a block away. The river here is very shallow and there is a dam further down stream. It’s extremely rare not to recover someone who has drowned in this part of the river, so long as there are no flood conditions (which there wasn’t at the time). It would be difficult for an adult to drown in this part of the river. Sadly his family may never know what happened to him. Other than legally being declared deceased there’s no closure. .

You're a machine Dr. Grande. How do you keep putting out so much content so frequently? I suppose since you're not diagnosing anyone, only speculating, it shaves a few minutes off the production. Congrats on the success and great content. ;)

It always amazes me when items belonging to a missing person are found in obscure places and turned over to police. I've found tons of trash in various places over the years and never once thought to turn it in to police because it might be connected to some horrifying crime.

So he had 2 ex wives that were draining him dry financially. Yes, can't understand why he'd want to completely disappear and restart a new life.

As DA he easily could have accepted cash for favors, leaving no records of such transactions behind. EDIT (after reading PhilLesh69 reply): The fact that he was adept at storing up his own wealth under other peoples' names also means he could have had additional sources of undetectable resources. Convicts and criminals out to kill him, ex-wives collecting monthly checks...seems like disappearing without a trace was a good retirement plan and that he would be the kind of person to take his time setting everything up in advance. Only speculating about what might be happening in a situation like this, of course.

Destroying evidence then disappearing doesn’t make you look suspicious at all.

I have always had my own theory in this case. I believe somewhere somehow he decided to leave the country and start over. He wanted to do his retirement away from everything that was going on in his life currently. I believe he found somebody in the network of people that obviously he has to work with due to his employment, and found someone that could get him an ID, maybe he traded some deals within a court system for some cash, met with someone to get a passport and some information, and headed off overseas. I still think he’s alive, living somewhere else. He definitely had the connections to be able to do that. I believe the cigarette smoke was the individual that he was meeting up with to obtain a passport, money, etc. The hard drive contained information about probably helping somebody, and or contacting this individual, so it had to be destroyed. I don’t think there’s any evidence that he’s actually dead and that there’s more evidence pointing to the fact that he took off.

Omg!! I am so hype to see you’re covering this! I live in Bellefonte, PA and the Ray Gricar case is a huge local mystery!!

One of the things that are very effective of Dr. Grande's presentation style is repeating/clarifying certain points to ensure understanding.

These unsolved cases where people just vanish are fascinating. I wonder if there is a bar somewhere where all of the people that do start a new life hang out at.

Great points on depression. It's been said attorneys are in top 10 careers for high stress. Happy Sunday & thanks Dr G😊💚💚

I remember reading about this case. Maybe one day there will be an answer. People just don't disappear into thin air.

This happened where I live. I recently listened to two podcasts about this. But in the end it’s still a mystery. Also, the street of shops in Lewisburg is awesome. Wonderful stores of all types of antiques and interesting finds.

My theory, at least for the destruction of the hard drive is that there was probably something on it that if people knew about, would damage his image. It wouldn't have to be illegal, it could just be some kink that people would think is weird and he'd forever be associated with it.

Lol, Street of shops! The way Dr.Grande "analyses" the mind of the person who gave the street its name, hahaha! This my kind of humor, keep them coming Doc!

I wonder if his loss of weight was due to a terminal illness which contributed to his decision to take his life.

Hi Dr. Grande. You put so much time into your videos. I appreciate that your content is done on an average of 17 minutes but is packed with the pertinent information. I love your analysis of the cases you cover. My favorite channel by far. Thanks you for all your hard work.

I usually disregard the "new life" theory as extremely unlikely, but in this case, I'm not so sure... He seemed smart and organized enough to do this. And maybe he actually had more money than we think (for instance, properties in the name of other people or something like that). I'm not saying this is the most likely theory, but it seems plausible.

Your consistent uploads really make my day, hopefully you’re staying safe, healthy, and happy though, Dr. Grande. And thank you for your hard work. 😇

It sounds like he met with a "night mover" in that parking lot, where they briefly sat together in his car and discussed the relocation process and exchanged payment before he got into another vehicle to "disappear" in.

There are "nighttime moving companies" in Japan, and I'm sure here as well, who help people move into completely new lives leaving little or no trace behind. _It all started in a bar in Paris, back in 2008, when a friend told Lena Mauger a story. It was about a Japanese couple who had disappeared. They hadn’t died. They weren’t kidnapped. They just deliberately vanished in the middle of the night without explanation._ _And this wasn’t just a one-off, mysterious occurrence. According to Mauger’s friend, it was a phenomenon. In Japan, thousands of people each year became johatsu - “evaporated people” - driven underground by the stigma of debt, job loss, divorce, even just failing an exam._

I live in State College, PA and I remember this case. I don’t recall hearing that his brother had committed suicide so that is really interesting. It’s one of our great mysteries along with the disappearance of Cindy Song.

Being an district attorney is very stressful, could be that the stress got to him. Great video Dr Grande!!! Have a rest Sunday!

Cigarette ashes in the car are the biggest clue that he wasn’t alone in the car. suicide or not someone sat in his car and I’m inclined to believe he was deliberately killed

My theory is that he was there to purchase a new dust filter for his Hoover Max Extract Pressure Pro model 60.

"I guess it was an early day for him." --literally this close to shooting my drink out my nose with that line.

I listen to your videos every night. Your voice, at this point, is like ASMR for me. Thanks for your daily videos! 🥂

Good morning Dr. Grande and all of his subscribers! I hope y’all have a great day.

Ray’s story should be made into a drama movie ….

Your speculations are awesome! If you actually diagnosed someone, we couldn't handle it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nah because I’ll never be convinced that this had nothing to do with the penn state stuff lol. Thanks for covering this one, doc!!?

The guy who named “Street of Shops” is likely related to the guy who named the Houston Texans football team.

I thought Sandusky immediately. Love your work Dr G✌️💙

Hmmm. Frail. "I won't be there any more". Could it also be that he was terminally ill and went to end his life away from his usual surroundings?

“Maybe she gave him a car and he drove away” 😂🙌🏻

I find the cases of people vanishing with no trace really intriguing.

I'm leaning towards theory number 3 also. If he was losing weight, perhaps he got an awful diagnosis about his health and wanted to go on his own terms. Very sad and puzzling case! Really great video, Dr. Grande!

If he has Slovenian roots as is found online, his name would be originally pronounced Gričar (greechar).

I think i might’ve seen you laugh for the first time ever while you were explaining the lack of creativity in whomever named the “street of shops” 😂👍

I love how you explain all of the theories and how probable each one is in relation to the case. Thank you for your analysis Dr Grande! Always informative!💙💙

This was a super interesting case. Good job, Dr Grande! I hope they find him living like a king somewhere someday. Also, I love the color combo of your shirt, and how the lines match up so perfectly!

The street of shops bit cracked me up “maybe it was an early day for him” 😂

Destroying his HDD makes murder seem unlikely.

I strongly agree that he ended his own life. I think he was methodical and as such, he planned his ending in the same manner. Destroying the hard drive was part of his plan. Furthermore, reports from people saying that he wasn’t depressed are irrelevant because depression is easy to hide, unfortunately. In addition, for people with depression there is usually one or very few factors that keep them going. Maybe for Ray that was his profession, without which life would lose its purpose. Excellent analysis Dr. Grande, thank you.❤️

I first read about this guy in connection with Penn State -- Jerry Sandusky situation.

Great thorough analysis, weighing all possibilities. Analytical and intelligent.

Dr. Grande, you had mentioned that Ray became frail and had lost some weight, and when questioned about a date to set for a trial he replied he wouldn't be here. I can't tell you, other than intuitively, but was Ray physically ill and going through treatments? Does his medical records provide any clues?

It’s time we all put our heads together to Name That Cactus! Who’s with me? I vote for ‘Noreen’.

I love this channel… shocking yet interesting subject matter delivered in such a soothing, calm voice! I suffer with anxiety, but fascinated by true crime and psychology!

"Maybe she gave him a car and he drove away, who knows" lmao Dr Grande couldn't resist an opportunity to make a jab at Oprah

I'd put the odds something like this. 70% chance of suicide - Just about everything lines up with this for me. His brother committed suicide, which has a well known genetic component. He struggled financially (despite a very good, well paying job). He had multiple failed marriages. It sounds as though he suffered from depression. The evidence suggests he (not someone else) knowingly destroyed hard drives prior to leaving. He also left hints about suicide, which were apparently interpreted incorrectly by others. All of it points heavily to suicide. 20% chance he was murdered - Given his occupation he would have had no shortage of enemies. 10% chance he faked his death and left to start a new life - Seems *highly* unlikely. He had next to no assets and basically left with nothing. Also, he was about to retire and a long-term DA would have had a very large pension. I cannot imagine he'd up and leave all that behind for no apparent reason. A few other observations: Evidence of cigarettes in his car - I'm not at all convinced this is significant evidence of foul play and there are multiple possibilities. Even though people insisted Ray hated cigarettes, many people are smokers who go to great lengths to hide their habit. I had an uncle who smoked for 40 years and literally *nobody* in my family knew he smoked in public until he died and the cigarettes were found on him. Ray was known as a very private person and in a stressful job, which makes the idea of him being a private smoker more likely. Another possibility is that since his car was abandoned unlocked someone else, like a vagrant or junkie, took shelter in it at some point and smoked in the car. The Sandusky case - This is mere speculation, but it has long been rumored that Sandusky was involved in a larger conspiracy of abusing children, with other powerful people involved in the abuse. Potentially someone like say, a district attorney. I am *highly* doubtful this is the case, but I have suspected there is a chance Ray was involved with Sandusky more than people think, and that the hard drive may have contained something shady, such as evidence of his involvement with Sandusky. Like I said, I think this is unlikely but worth mentioning. Ray's finances - Even with two divorces, his complete lack of any assets makes little sense. His job pays about $200k a year with great benefits. There's no reason why he should have struggled financially unless there was more going on - like a gambling addiction or drugs.

I remember hearing this story before and I thought then that he was murdered by someone he thought he could trust. Now, however, I think he took off. They never found his body and the fact that the hard drive was destroyed doesn't point to an outsider but does to a person in the know; like an attorney. It surely is a mystery. I wonder if you have any inclination to do the story on the Alex Murdaugh case which is going on right now.That is one strange case.

I understand your logic and why you reached the conclusion you did about Ray but I would like to think that Ray just wanted to start a new life. The part that seems strange to me is that they never found his body. If he had been murdered they would have found the remains of a skeleton somewhere or a bone fragment from his body been taken to a wooded area an animal. Had he thrown himself into the river that in spite of being shallow water from what I gathered from your presentation, the river would have carried it to some destination and it eventually would have washed up. Ray was not stupid, if he was going to drown himself I don't think he threw himself into the shallow end of the pool as they say, that wouldn't really be conducive for an unsuccessful outcome of killing oneself, if that's what one wanted to do. I hope Ray just "ran away from home," & somewhere in some obscure town he has an Antique Store that specializes in Vintage Cameras.

I feel so sorry for both Patty and Ray's daughter. Patty said she felt like they were soulmates, and his daughter, who lived in Seattle at the time of his disappearance, said she would most likely have to live the rest of her life without seeing her father again and without ever knowing what happened to him. I can't imagine not knowing what happened to my father or to my soulmate. 😔 My heart goes out to them both and I hope they were once again able to find happiness in their lives.

Just my personal speculation: he had led a double life and was engaged in something criminal himself, and this was close to being revealed, which would have ruined his reputation, thus he decided to destroy the evidence and go to the happy hunting grounds. I'm not optimistic when it comes to people who at first glance seem flawless and correct. They use to be the worst of us all. But maybe I'm totally off with this theory and he really was just a depressive innocent person. Anyway, that's a fascinating case and video, it even made me forget the dissappearance of supercactus - and this isn't easy to achieve. Good night!

I grew up and still live in the town he was the DA at in bellefonte. I was just a teen when he went missing but I remember it was a huge local news story and still is. People think it might have been someone he sent to prison that might’ve killed him. I still can’t believe he hasn’t been found. We live in a very small town so this situation was very surprising.

Losing weight. Could be a clue. Terminal illness. How about him declining to set a court date saying he wouldn’t be here.

The cigarette smoke and ashes in the car are puzzling. I'd have thought suicide, if not for that. I don't think he was running away to start a new life, either. Anything's possible, this is a real head scratcher. Thanks for this intriguing case, Dr.Grande. And for wearing that shirt! Love the colors and it really looks great on you!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🙂

That was a brilliant video. Thank you Dr Grande ,

nice peach colors today happening :) Bella Grande Media is awesome :) nice plant placements :) intressesting analysis

Dr. Grande, it would be great if you could analyze the case of the Isdal Woman.

Let's review : dedication to meticulous planning , conscientiousness, 2 failed marriages , introversion, weight loss , frailty. Mr. Gricar may have been diagnosed (under an assumed name) with a terminal disease , most likely cancer , he did not wish to wither away and be a burden on his girl friend or family or expose himself to the humiliation of being a bead ridden pre-corpse . Within his experiences as a prosecutor and DA he had many opportunities to encounter individuals who had talents and proclivities to engage in activities that would be something less than above board. I suspect he may have planned his exit strategy to include a permanent and very discreet way of disposing of his own body post suicide - the cigarette smoker being the off grid undertaker.

You know what would explain a lot in this case...and I am ofcourse also only speculating...that Ray was being blackmailed. Destroying the harddrive and the lack of earnings that didn't fit the position he was filling. That car doesn't fit a man of his standing. Neither does living in the house of his girlfriend. You would suspect he would at least keep up an image and drive a bigger car. He seemed to be very ambitious at one time and he did have a high profiled job. For him to be as humble and seek out a simple life, come on...there's only one Keanu Reeves. And there are many ways to slip up when you are a public official. District Attorney is not associated with modesty. But a scandal could make a proud man from owning up because of what people would say or how it would reflect on his office... Could be barking up the wrong tree here but this is defenitly a reason to look into persons that came into some money the last few months before his disappearance. "Miss Marble😉🤭🤯" haha.

Even though the *D.A.* went missing, our *Daily Analysis* from Dr. Grande keeps on coming. DA, vs *D.A.*. Thankyou Dr. Grande.🌹😇🌹❗️

As a resident of Central Pennsylvania, this case is very intriguing to me. So many puzzling facts ...

Wow! That was a curious tale. I hope he's living a secret life somewhere but it seems unlikely. Doc, please do a video on what's happening in Texas with the ban on abortion and the $10,000 reward for turning people in😩 Would love your calming analysis of the situation! Love all the content🙌💙🌈💙

there was something on that harddrive that embarrassed him. That's why he went to so much trouble to destroy it before jumping in the river

I've read that he was suppose prosecute the football coach during the Penn state scandal. Great reading I really enjoyed it. Can look at Blair Adams, Elisa lam they died of mysterious circumstances

Love your channel, you are SO calm.

Oddly enough, in my small hometown of less than ten thousand people I know of two sets of brothers who committed suicide, and I wonder if there may be a genetic disposition for suicide in some people. I have no idea if this was just a sad coincidence but I find those cases odd. Could Ray have been genetically predisposed to consider suicide a viable alternative? Anyone else ever run into this type of shared self destructive behavior? Great job as always, Doctor.

There was evidence of an unknown account in Gricar's check register, that he made telephone transfers to. It was listed as "from SAV to VG." VG is the bank prefix to the British Virgin Islands.

I would have never guessed retirement could be a stressful transition. I always thought it was happy time. Dang. Great video Dr. Grande

Once again, top notch content and comedy from Dr. Grande!

The thing that gets me is he hates cigarettes like I do and somebody was smoking in his car, and he was clearly waiting to meet someone

Even less original than Street of Shops is Street Rd, also in Pennsylvania. Really? Street Rd?

Couldn't Patty have done the search? Why assume it was him? Why wouldn't he search on his laptop? I think it was homicide. I have watched other accounts, you did a great job.

4:57 That subtle whiff gets me every time, Doctor.

Witness protection?

OK. I think I’m at the end of the line. I’ve listened too every single Dr Grande podcast to date. Please, get more out ASAP as they are coincidentally perfectly timed to walking my dog. They make otherwise boring dog walks kind of fun. How about a Leopold and Loeb or a Richard Hickock and Perry Smith podcast? Thanks in advance.

I'm going with murder on this one. Unless his pension went down the tubes due to bad investments, I just don't see him working his whole life through all that controversy just to die by his own hand. Whoever wanted to kill him probably promised to spare him if he destroyed the laptop evidence but then betrayed the promise. Seems like suicidal people do try to tie up loose ends before they die, but people with confidentiality concerns retire and die all the time without totally obliterating their case files. They transfer them to another attorney or leave them in a safety deposit box or something. Maybe he figured out who killed his brother. Maybe he knew of some dirty police or politician activity and that's why he was always closed off at work. Who knows but I just don't believe it was suicide. Not based on this extremely brief coverage anyway.

I lived in State College when this happened. It’s a real mystery

It's pretty easy to open an offshore account. I hope you are well Ray and enjoying your new life.

Even on a Sunday Dr. Grande has a new video! Many thanks Dr.!

Can you analyze literary characters? That would be so interesting, too. For example, Blanche Dubois in Streetcar named desire.

He was paid off for not convicting Sandusky, had cash hidden and finally blew the popsicle stand.

How much more considerate it would be if people who choose to end their own life would at least leave a note.

Love the “Street of Shops” aside from Dr Grande haha

I wonder if he was sick with cancer or another terminal illness. It would match with his unexplained weight loss, why he planned to retire early, and, if he didn't want anyone to know but searched it on his computer, why he tried to destroy the hard drive.

Thanks, Dr. Grande, for doing this one. I love your show.

Thank you for your production & excellent content

Being from PA I recall this happening😢 Thank you for your analysis ✌️ I have to agree 💯

This is one of the most interesting cases I've ever heard about.

Thank you Dr. Grande, now I’m completely consumed thinking all three endings are possible. 😂

Good evening, Dr. Grande. I'm binge watching you! I'm from Pennsylvania, and Thank You for covering this!

My theory is his disappearance is tied to the Sandusky case which had too many indications of cover ups throughout the entire process. Too many people were involved.

Ray Gricar did not intend to come back from the trip. We know this because: 1) he searched about water damage to a laptop; 2) he took the laptop on a supposedly short shopping trip, with no work-related reason for doing so, and without the AC plug or case; and most importantly, 3) he threw it in the river even though he had several MONTHS left before retirement. Can you imagine him coming back to work on Monday, saying "Hey guys, I threw my county-issued laptop in the river, just to be on the safe side. I'll just sit quietly at my desk doing nothing until I retire." So, clearly, he was done with his job very prematurely, which would've made people think he'd gone crazy and possibly cost him his retirement money. NO WAY he planned to return home after he chucked that thing in the drink. He also left some other clues: a legal book on his work desk open to the page that described the process for hiring a new DA. He was captured on surveillance camera going into the office briefly the day before he disappeared, possibly to do that, since he knew it would be his last time in the office. And he called Patty from Lewisburg telling her he'd be late, which seems like a way to buy some time before he was reported missing. He couldn't tell her he'd be late before he left his home, so he picked a time to do it when it would be believable to Patty. It's a good guess that immediately after he made that call, he left his car and went wherever he went. That gave him maximum time to do what he needed to do with the final part of his plan. It's unlikely he was even IN the Street of Shops at all; no one knew him or was specifically looking for him, so the two possible sightings of him in there are highly questionable. If you go to any shopping center on any day and show a picture of a guy to a bunch of people, there'll always be at least a few who say, "Yeah, I think I saw a guy who maybe looked kinda like that." Also there was another guy riding around the area in a red Mini-Cooper on the same day; police found him and ruled out several sightings around town. It seems fairly obvious that Ray used the shopping center as an excuse, since Patty knew he went there occasionally and wouldn't question the trip. And no purchases were made; nothing from there found in his car, and he sure didn't take some newly purchased antiques with him as he walked away on his solo death mission. Going to the Street of Shops, just for the hell of it, was just a ruse for Patty's sake -- so he could get up to that area on that day without suspicion. As for the smoke smell, though his car was found locked, we don't know for sure that it was Ray who locked it. If he left it open, anyone could've been in there smoking after he left - a bum or some random kid looking for something to steal - and locked it when they left. Or a stranger casually chatting Ray up about his nice car could've left the smell, smoking while leaning in the window. It's even conceivable that Ray himself smoked in there, either nervously or as a deceptive ruse, knowing police would smell it and go down the "foul play" path, since he was not a smoker. If he planned out his disappearance as much as he appears to have, I can see him doing that as sort of a cherry on top to throw people off the track, being a DA who knows well how investigations work. Bottom line: a smoke smell in a car doesn't mean a missing guy was kidnapped & killed. And that's all we really have as far as potential "foul play" evidence. Everything else points to Ray being entirely alone up there. A sighting of Ray moving his car around as though to make room for another car is totally unconfirmed, as is his walking around the shopping center being in the general vicinity of a certain woman. If that really was Ray, which I doubt, there's no evidence they knew each other, and one witness said they both went separate ways inside. Can you imagine going up there to have an affair, but saying, "Honey, I want to make plans to run away with you, but let's do some independent antiquing first." He wasn't there to meet a woman; he wasn't married to Patty and could easily leave her openly if he chose to. And obviously, throwing your work laptop into a river is not a common part of having an affair, especially when you're STILL WORKING AT THAT JOB! Where he went is anyone's guess, but I think he walked. I considered that he might've left a car there previously to get into, but it's not sensible: how did he get back after leaving the secret stashed car on some previous trip up there? Was it in his name, and how did he hide it from Patty or later police checks? Why was it never found? So that's ruled out. He walked or had a secretly purchased bike stashed in the trunk (it would've had to be secretly purchased, otherwise Patty would know it was missing. That was a mistake retired fireman Michael Chambers made, who set up his own disappearance as an apparent kidnapping from his garage... but he left on his own bike, which his family noticed was missing, thus revealing he was likely responsible for his own disappearance. His skeletal remains, along with his bike, were discovered in 2022. Who knows, if they ever find Ray's remains in some secluded wooded area, he might have an old rusty bike next to him that no one knew he owned, which had been his 'getaway vehicle' -- but it's total speculation, and more likely that Ray walked away.) Wherever Ray went, there's no evidence anyone knew about his plan or helped him. He apparently figured out where to end his life in a place where he knew he'd have little chance of being found. And I think the reason was twofold: he'd become very worried about retirement and what he'd do with himself for the rest of his life, and he never did get over the death of his big brother. So he decided to leave this world the way his brother did, most likely. And he did a phenomenal job of hiding his plans, other than uncharacteristically sleeping too much near the end, which caught Patty's attention. Alternatively, he might've had a secret life such as Texas assistant DA Bill Conradt did: a very respected DA on the surface, but a closeted gay online child pred who was caught and ended his life when cornered, desperately deleting & locking down his hard drives before his death to hide the evidence. Something like that would explain why Ray felt the need to destroy his hard drive and then offed himself, but it's highly unlikely since Ray was quite a different person than Conradt. The case of Mel Wiley, Ohio police chief who did the same kind of disappearing act years earlier and was NEVER found, likely played into Ray's plan. Wiley tried to set it up like he might've drowned by where he left his car near a beach to go swimming, even buying himself a new pair of trunks that day (even though everyone knew he hated swimming and would never go near water, so his plan in that aspect was kinda poor.) So his disappearance was a total mystery at first. But he left behind some clues, perhaps to take foul play off people's minds so they wouldn't worry too much: he cleaned out his previously cluttered office desk drawer except for one single item: the key to his apartment. He also left his cats a massive amount of food, and took his novels and other written works. And he also made a huge mistake which turned out to be the biggest clue: typed a never-sent letter to his ex, which stated his plans to leave town forever and even had vague hints of ending his life ("Where I'm going, people can never come back from..."), which was only discovered when they checked the used ink ribbon on his typewriter, piecing together the contents of the letter keystroke by keystroke! I think Ray admired how Wiley accomplished his plan; reports say Ray was interested in the case. Maybe what Ray wanted to hide on his laptop was all the research he'd done on Wiley's case! He wasn't very computer savvy, so he might've felt it was safest just to throw the whole thing in the river on the day he put his disappearance/death plan into action. The two cases are quite similar. Both of them were law enforcement officials who became depressed & sad as they aged, but kept it strictly to themselves, and ultimately decided they wanted leave this planet, but not in the typical way. For reasons we'll never know, they decided to try their best to make sure people always wondered what happened to them, and they both succeeded to an almost perfect degree. The difference is, while they both left subtle clues at their desks - Wiley the key, Ray the open book - Wiley made the mistake of leaving his ink ribbon behind, thus revealing his plans, while Ray didn't make a clear mistake that we know of, other than leaving his search results on Patty's home PC that showed he planned to throw his laptop in a river. Ray was a bit smarter than Wiley and he covered his tracks a little better. But in the end, both guys got what they wanted: their own deaths, with lingering mystery as to what happened and where they are.