Missing from: Beacon, New York
Missing: June 20, 1998
Age at disappearance: 46
Height: 5’11” 6’0″
Weight: 190 – 200 lbs.
Hair Color: Gray/White
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Characteristics: Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Caucasian male. Art has a large scar on his left leg. He has a tattoo of a heart on his upper right arm. Art may have a full beard. He was missing two of his upper front teeth in 1998. He walks with a limp. Deering is a veteran of the Vietnam War; he served in the Marines. Art suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his experiences in the Vietnam War. He suffers nightmares and delusions as a result.
Details of Disappearance: Art was last seen at approximately 8:00 PM on June 20, 1998 when an friend dropped him off at the Metro North train station in Beacon, New York. He was ill and was supposed to be en route to Montrose Veterans’ Administration (VA) Hospital at the time. Deering was receiving continuing treatment at the hospital during the summer of 1998. He had been discharged from his in-patient status on June 12, eight days prior to his disappearance, after a six-week in-patient stay. Deering was carrying a large-sized black plastic bag with most of his personal belongings inside of it at the station. Deering never arrived at the hospital and has not been heard from again. His sister reported him missing on June 25, five days after his disappearance.
Deering’s vehicle was discovered abandoned on Spring Valley Street in Beacon several days after he vanished. There was no sign of Deering at the scene. His sister had planned on assisting him with locating an apartment in Kingston, New York during the week of his disappearance. Deering had previously lived in Kingston from 1996 until the summer of 1998. He also lived in Memphis, Tennessee and North Carolina in the past. Deering may have traveled to Tennessee, eastern North Carolina or Florida.
He may be disoriented. He is interested in music and motorcycles. Deering often wears t-shirts displaying POW (Prisoner Of War), MIA (Missing In Action) or Harley Davidson logos / emblems. He was last seen wearing a black POW shirt and blue jeans. He was previously employed as a carpenter. Deering’s case remains unsolved. His family believes he may be living on the streets.
Investigating Agency: Beacon City Police Department 845-831-4111/845-838-5057
If you have any information on this case, please contact CUE Center for Missing Persons at (910) 343-1131 or call the CUE Center 24-hour tip line at (910) 232-1687. All information submitted to CUE Center for Missing Persons is confidential.
Missing vet’s sister offers $1,000 reward
11/02/98
BEACON – The family of a Kingston veteran who disappeared more than four months ago is offering a reward for any information leading to his whereabouts.
Arthur P. Deering was last seen June 20th with all his belongings crammed into a black plastic garbage bag.
He was on his way to the Montrose Veterans Affairs Hospital when he was last seen. He never checked in.
His hair is gray, he has a limp and there is an empty space where his two front teeth used to be. He is diabetic and needs daily medication. Images of combat in Vietnam routinely haunt his sleep. Sometimes he suffers from delusions. He is 46.
His mother and brother live in North Carolina. His sister, Dorothy McNabb, moved from Pennsylvania to Mulberry, Fla., last year. She has been searching the Internet for contacts and help in finding her younger brother, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. She filed the missing person report with Beacon police June 25. She hears from them often, sometimes about reports of possible sightings in this region.
She tried her best to take care of him, visiting each Christmas, helping him find places to live between stays at the hospital. Now she is offering $1,000 for information leading to his whereabouts.
“He doesn’t have anybody else. He just depended on me,” said McNabb, who returned to New York on June 18 for the summer.
She was headed to help him find a new apartment in Kingston when she learned he went missing. He was discharged from Montrose June 12, after a six-week stay, and temporarily moved in with Bill Lasch, a friend in Beacon. Before Montrose, he lived in the Colonial Village Apartments in Kingston.
On June 20, however, Lasch dropped Deering, who had all of his belongings with him, at the Beacon train station. Deering was headed back to Montrose; he has not been heard from since. His car was found days later on Beacon’s Spring Valley Street. Lasch had no phone.
“It may just be he (Deering) is kind of fed up with things. I have not ruled out foul play,” McNabb said. “Everybody is very concerned.”
The case is being investigated by Beacon Police Detective Thomas D’Amicantonio. Beacon Police Lt. Paul Schettino said his agency sent computer messages to police nationwide outlining Deering’s description, dental records and psychological disorders.
“There’s been a couple of leads here or there but they all wound up at dead ends,” Schettino said.
Meanwhile, McNabb is sending flyers with his photo to everyone he knew, as well as police and businesses in places he was familiar with, including Kingston, Kerhonkson, Port Jervis and Memphis, Tenn., where he lived before Kingston.
If you have any information on this case please contact CUE Center For Missing Persons using the contact form below or contact Cue Center at (910) 343-1131 24 hour tipline (910) 232-1687.