About one year after the death of Coudersport native Patrick
Ryan, people have recently come forward with information for
police, helping to clear up what happened to him.

Cpl. William Felmlee, the Clarion-based state police trooper in
charge of the investigation, said the probe is ongoing, but people
have come forward helping to paint a picture as to what exactly
happened to Ryan. He said they’re actively pursuing it from a
criminal standpoint to find out what exactly occurred and what
criminal activity may have happened.

Felmlee said there was evidence found where Ryan’s body was
discovered that he believes will definitely link someone to that
scene at that time. He also said they don’t know how long it will
take to be able to solve the case.

“We don’t know if an arrest will be made – if we’re talking two
weeks from now or two years from now or if we won’t have anything
on it,” Felmlee said. “I’m confident that it will be solved. I’m
confident that we are looking at multiple actors, and we’re
treating it as multiple crimes.”

At the time of his death, Ryan, 30, had been living in Clarion
to finish his graduate degree in library science and had just
accepted a position teaching at Bucks County Community College. He
was set to move to New Jersey and resided there with his
girlfriend, Melissa Ernst, but never arrived in New Jersey on Aug.
15, 2005, as planned. He had been reported missing by his family on
Aug. 18.

Reports indicate the last time Ryan was seen alive was the
morning of Aug. 14 at a bar, the Captain Loomis Inn, in the borough
of Clarion. Employees at the tavern confirmed Ryan stopped in alone
Saturday night (or early Sunday morning) between 1 and 1:30 a.m.,
and stayed until the bar closed. The patrons there, including Ryan,
were invited to a private after-hours party, but authorities have
said there is no indication he actually went to the party.

Employees at the bar also said a young man approached Ryan, and
the two had a “minor disagreement,” but that Ryan moved down the
bar away from the other man and there was no further incident.

Originally when officers arrived at Ryan’s residence in Clarion,
they found the sport-utility vehicle Ryan borrowed from his
parents, Dr. and Mrs. Peter Ryan of Coudersport, to make the move
to New Jersey still parked there. In addition, the doors to his
apartment were unlocked, windows were open, lights were on and a
fan was still running.

Ryan’s body was discovered Aug. 23, 2005, along Watson Farm Road
in Howe Township, Forest County, shortly after noon by an
individual working in the area who had pulled into a pull-off in a
wooded area to have his lunch.

Felmlee said they’re obviously looking into how Ryan’s body
ended up in Howe Township – about 35 miles from Clarion – when he
was reported missing from Clarion.

Forest County Coroner Norman Wimer said Ryan’s body must have
been at the Forest County location at least a week. Wimer ruled in
mid-November of 2005 that the cause of death was “a combination of
drug and alcohol overdose,” positively confirmed through toxicology
results.

“While the cause of death is now known, we still do not know the
manner of death and it will officially be recorded as
undetermined,” Wimer said in a press release at that time. Whether
Ryan was forced to take the lethal combination, chose to take it or
accidentally took it could not be determined at the time of his
autopsy, Wimer said.

Felmlee said there’s a parallel investigation in this type of
death since the coroner has to determine the cause and manner of
death, while police investigate it from their perspective and try
to clear up the manner of death and criminal charges.

“We’re all working independent of one another, but we’re also
working together,” Felmlee said. “We’ll get together to make a
consensus ruling at some point in time. We have treated it as
seriously as possible from the get go,” adding that they never
treated it as a homicide since they didn’t know the exact manner of
death.

Ryan was a graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and
had attended the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where he
graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in writing. He also
worked at WESB radio in Bradford. He taught English at the
University of Memphis (Tenn.) and moved back to the Clarion area
about two years ago.