Reston Man Arrested in Connection with Regional Robberies — Police have arrested a Reston man in connection with a series of robberies at convenience stores in Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Bresner Porres, 30, was arrested after a multi-jurisdictional effort and was charged with three counts of robbery at 7-Eleven stores in Sterling. [Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office]

Search Underway for Missing Herndon Woman — Local police are seeking the public’s help to find a woman who went missing on Nov. 9. Joey Sitek, 28, is 5’5” and roughly 120 pounds. Police believe there is an immediate concern for her well-being. [Herndon Police Department]

Tephra Hires New Associate Curator —  The Tephra Institute of Contemporary art has hired a new associate curator and festival director. Hannah Barco had a similar position at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. [Tephra]

Photo by Majrorie Copson

The funeral for Michael Delaney, who went missing after walking out of Reston Hospital last year, is being held this Friday (Oct. 22) at 10 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston.

In July, Delaney’s remains were found in the Sugarland Run area concluding a 14-month long search for him.

He served in the Navy for over a decade and was a Vietnam War veteran, as his obituary notes. During Delaney’s service, he or his crew received a number of commendations and medals. He was honorably discharged as a Lt. Commander in 1980.

Internment at Arlington National Cemetery will occur at a later date, notes the obituary.

In 1978, he married Dyanna R. Park, whom he met while attending Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. They lived in Reston the rest of their lives where Delaney worked as a system analyst and for Fairfax County Public Schools.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.

On May 9, 2020, Courtney Park-Jamborsky dropped off her stepfather at the emergency room at Reston Hospital Center. He had fallen earlier in the day and suffered only a minor cut, but Park-Jamborsky wanted to be cautious. She, however, couldn’t enter the emergency room due to COVID-19 protocols.

“I stood at the sliding emergency room door at the hospital, and he stood there with me,” she told Reston Now earlier this year. “I felt like I was letting a five-year-old walk through that door without someone helping him. But I had confidence that [Reston Hospital] knew what they were doing. I never thought in a million years that he would disappear.”

She never saw her stepfather again. Delaney was officially reported missing two days later, as surveillance video showed him walking out of the facility at 9 p.m. on May 10.

Searches using helicopters, K9s, and rescue teams commenced but police couldn’t locate Delaney.

14 months later, his remains were found only a few miles from Reston Hospital. It remains unknown exactly how or when he died.

“Skeletal remains were found on July 10 which led our Search and Rescue team to the area of Sugarland Run. During that search, officers found the remains of what was later determined to be Mr. Delaney, which was confirmed by the Medical Examiner,” a Fairfax County Police Department spokesperson wrote to Reston Now in an email.

“It is unknown what occurred during the time that Mr. Delaney was reported to be missing, but detectives believe that he likely passed in days following his disappearance. Detectives do not suspect foul play in his death and the investigation is closed.”

The obituary notes that Delaney died on July 10. That’s not the actual day of death, however, but rather the date remains were found.

“It is [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner] practice to use the date found as the date of death instead of determining the actual date of death,” confirms an OCME spokesperson to Reston Now.

Delaney loved helping people, according to the obituary. He gave blood often, was a fabulous chef and a history buff. He enjoyed double-feature movies, the Vienna Inn, crossword puzzles, and football.

“He was, above all, a kind and gentle soul,” reads the obituary.

In July, Park-Jamborsky remained hopeful that her step-father would be found alive.

“Every day, I wake up in the morning and think ‘will today be the day that I get the call … that Michael’s body has been found or maybe he’s been found living with a loving family or a widowed woman that wanted to take care of him,” Park-Jamborsky said at the time. “But then I think this isn’t the movies.”

Those wishing to honor Delaney’s memory are being asked to make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Former Herndon Resident Charged in Old Sex Assaults — “A 48-year-old Winchester man has been charged with six felonies for sexual assaults that occurred between 1999 and 2001. Detectives began their investigation in May after a victim disclosed the unlawful sexual contact occurring in 2001. Detectives determined Rigoberto Garcia Nolasco resided in the 13300 block of Schwenger Place in Herndon where he provided piano lessons to the victim.” [FCPD]

Faulty Wiring Causes Reston Building Fire — The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to a building fire in the 12000 block of Sunset Hills Road early Friday morning (July 23) that started “in the wiring of a small, under the cabinet style refrigeration unit” and caused an estimated $1,000 in damages. The fire was contained by two sprinklers inside the building and quickly extinguished upon firefighters’ arrival. [Patch]

Tenant of Missing Lorton Woman Charged — “Fairfax County police say they have found the body of 72-year-old Emily Lu, 50 days after she disappeared following a trip to a grocery store, and officers have arrested a man who lived with her…Brian George Sayrs, Jr., 25, of Woodbridge, was arrested and faces a charge of second-degree murder, News4’s Shomari Stone was first to report. Sayrs is also charged with felony concealment of a body.” [NBC4]

Learn the History of “Virginia Is for Lovers” — “Perhaps you’ve heard of ‘Virginia is for lovers.’ That is surely one of the most memorable tourism slogans in history, despite the fact that it’s hard to pin down exactly what it means. The slogan debuted in 1969 but our story actually begins a couple of years earlier, when Richmond ad agency Martin & Woltz was invited to pitch for the state’s travel promotion account.” [The Washington Post]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

The skeletal remains of Michael Delaney, the Reston man who went missing from Reston Hospital in May 2020, have been found in the Sugarland Run area, Fairfax County police confirmed.

On Friday afternoon (July 23), the Fairfax County Police Department published a message on Facebook saying the remains were found on Wednesday (July 21) by its Search and Rescue team after a community member reported it.

The FCPD says it does not suspect foul play in his death.

We’re saddened to announce Michael Delaney was found on July 21 by our Search and Rescue team. Our team returned to search the area of Sugarland Run after a community member reported finding what appeared to be skeletal remains. During the search, officers discovered clothing matching the description of what Mr. Delaney was last seen wearing as well as skeletal remains. Detectives from our Crime Scene Section collected the remains which were given to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Dental records confirmed the remains are Mr. Delaney’s. Detectives do not suspect foul play in his death.

“On behalf of the Major Crimes Bureau, my heartfelt condolences go out to the family and Friends of Mr. Delaney. We are incredibly sorry for your loss. There is so much that goes into these kind of cases and I want to thank the lead detective for his dedication to this case and to Mr. Delany’s family since he went missing over a year ago. Many people played an important and valuable role to include our Search and Rescue team, detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau as well as our local and state law enforcement partners. They tirelessly followed up on every lead we received, many of which led them outside not only Fairfax County but the state. A special thank you to the many volunteers and to the other public and private entities who assisted with searching over 5,000 acres since the time Mr. Delaney went missing. This is not the resolution our detectives and our agency hoped for and our hearts remain with the Delaney family,” Major Ed O’Carroll, Commander of the Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics Bureaus

This information confirms what Courtney Park-Jamborsky, Delaney’s step-daughter, announced in a Facebook post early yesterday (Thursday).

In the message, Park-Jamborsky said that Delaney’s clothing, a gown, and wallet were found, along with his remains.

“Our family is heartbroken but feel relieved to know about Michael after 14 months of agony,” she wrote. “We are forever grateful for the outpouring of support since May 10, 2020.”

Reston Now has reached out to the family, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

According to surveillance video, Delaney walked out of Reston Hospital in the evening of May 10, 2020.

The previous day, Park-Jamborsky had taken him to the hospital because of a fall at his Reston home. While Delaney suffered from dementia, she was not allowed to accompany him inside due to COVID-19 protocols that were in place at the time.

“I stood at the sliding emergency room door at the hospital, and he stood there with me,” Park-Jamborsky told Reston Now in May 2021, a year after his disappearance. “I felt like I was letting a 5-year-old walk through that door without someone helping him. But I had confidence that [Reston Hospital] knew what they were doing. I never thought in a million years that he would disappear.”

He was admitted into the hospital and kept overnight. Around 9:30 p.m. the next day, Park-Jamborsky says she received a call from the hospital saying they couldn’t find her stepfather.

Surveillance video showed Delaney walking out of the hospital about 30 minutes earlier. FCPD put out a missing persons alert several hours later.

Delaney was never seen again, despite a search that lasted weeks. While Delaney’s location has been found, it still remains unclear as ever what led up to the tragedy.

Michael Delaney Found Dead in Sugarland Run — The remains of Reston resident Michael Delaney were found in the Sugarland Run area on Wednesday (July 21), 14 months after he went missing from Reston Hospital in May 2020. His step-daughter says the family is “heartbroken but feel relieved” to have closure on his disappearance. [Courtney Park-Jamborsky/Facebook]

Matchbox Pizza Opens at Reston Station Today — After a few delays, Matchbox will officially open its new restaurant at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza Drive today (Friday), as promised last month. Some opening activities have been planned, and the venue will serve happy hour specials during the work week with bottomless brunch on the weekends. [Matchbox]

Pickleball Tournament Coming to Reston — “We are excited to announce that the first annual Reston Paddle Battle Pickleball Tournament, on September 18 & 19. See the attached flyer for more info. Register today at http://pickleballtournaments.com, space is limited!” [Reston Association/Twitter]

Police Seek Help in Search for Missing Lorton Woman — Fairfax County police are offering a $20,000 reward for information about the disappearance of 72-year-old Lorton resident Emily Lu, who was last seen at an Aldi in Woodbridge on June 3. Homicide detectives are now involved in the case, as police suspect foul play. [WTOP]

Woman Robbed at Herndon ATM — “Town of Herndon Police are investigating a robbery that took place recently at an ATM on Elden Street, according to the weekly crime report. Around 8:30 a.m., on June 5, a woman told police she was at an ATM in the 300 block of Elden Street when to people approached her and demanded money.” [Patch]

Attorney General Nominees Hold First General Election Debate — Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring and Republican challenger Jason Miyares each presented the other’s vision as “radical wrong turns” for Virginia in a debate yesterday, the first since the Democratic primary wrapped up last week. Herring highlighted his support for police reform and stricter gun regulations, while Miyares criticized his opponent as having “a criminal first, victim last mind-set.” [The Washington Post]

Reston Community Center Recognizes Volunteers — “We love our RCC volunteers! Thank you for all that you do to build community. We enjoyed being with you June 12 for the Volunteer Appreciation celebration.” [RCC/Instagram]

Reston Hospital Gives Scholarships to Local Students — South Lakes High School students Virag Ellen Murphy and Emma Lynch are among 16 high school seniors in Fairfax and Loudoun counties to receive scholarships from Reston Hospital Center. The hospital’s medical staff awards $13,000 in scholarships every year to local high schools in support of students who plan to pursue a career in health care. [HCA Virginia]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Courtney Park-Jamborsky remembers vividly the last time she saw her stepfather Michael Delaney last year.

It was May 9 and she was dropping the 75-year-old Reston resident off at the emergency room at Reston Hospital Center. Delaney had fallen earlier in the day at his Reston home. While he had only a small cut, he suffered from dementia so Park-Jamborsky knew to be cautious.

Due to strict COVID-19 protocols, she could not enter the emergency room with him. So, she hand-wrote a note with his medical history, social security number, and her contact information.

“I stood at the sliding emergency room door at the hospital, and he stood there with me,” she tells Reston Now. “I felt like I was letting a five-year-old walk through that door without someone helping him. But I had confidence that [Reston Hospital] knew what they were doing. I never thought in a million years that he would disappear.”

As the one-year mark of Delaney’s disappearance approaches, neither his family nor Fairfax County Police Department is any closer to finding him after he walked out of Reston Hospital Center last May.

“Michael Delaney is still reported missing,” FCPD wrote in a statement to Reston Now. “In the days following his reported missing, we exhausted numerous resources to find him to include our helicopter, K9, Search and Rescue Team as well as assistance from numerous volunteer organizations. Our detectives would ask anyone with information about his current whereabouts to please call, 703-691-2131.”

Delaney wasn’t initially supposed to be at the hospital for long, perhaps only a few hours. Due to this, Park-Jamborsky didn’t let him bring his phone.

“It was right at the beginning of COVID, so we thought anything that was touched, you could get COVID from… so I thought I couldn’t let him take his phone into the hospital,” she says.

However, when Park-Jamborsky called the hospital later, they told him that he was being kept overnight so he could have an MRI the next morning due to the possibility of a stroke.

She called back the next morning, May 10 which was Mother’s Day, and they told her they were still waiting for the MRI to take place. Really wanting to pick him up for the holiday, she called again later that afternoon only to be told they were now waiting for the MRI results.

Then, she says she received a call at around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night.

“The nurse called… she said ‘We can’t find Michael,'” says Park-Jamborsky. “She said ‘Well, I was walking with him on the floor and I turned to get something and he was gone.'”

On May 11, the Fairfax County Police Department put out an alert about Delaney, saying that he was last seen the day before (May 10) at 9:02 p.m. in the 1800 block of Town Center Parkway.

Surveillance video showed him exiting Reston Hospital.

#Missing: 75yo Michael Delaney last seen 5/10 @ 9:02 pm in the 1800 blk of Town Center Pkwy, Reston. He is 6’3”, 170lbs, blu eyes/gray hair. Wearing blk jacket, yellow hospital gown & jeans. Endangered due to mental and/or physical health concerns. Call 703-691-2131 w/info. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/nFYwoEey5U

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 11, 2020

“The next morning… someone called [from the hospital], and asked ‘Did we find Michael?’ And I said ‘no, we have not.’ And they said, ‘We’re very concerned.’ That was the last time I spoke to anyone at the hospital.”

Park-Jamborsky reiterated that she has not had any contact with Reston Hospital since that day. When asked if the hospital could have done more to prevent this from happening, Park-Jamborsky says yes.

Reston Now reached out to the hospital to ask about what happened the night Delaney went missing. Additionally, we asked a series of questions about protocols, particularly around preventing situations like this from happening with patients like Delaney.

They answered with the below statement:

“On the night of May 10, 2020, a Reston Hospital Center care team member observed that 75-year old, Michael Delaney, was not in his patient room. We immediately began a facility search and notified the Fairfax County Police Department. He was not found on the hospital campus.

Since his departure from the facility, Reston Hospital Center has coordinated with the Fairfax County Police to support their missing person investigation. This is an ongoing investigation and we defer to the Fairfax County Police Department for additional comment.

We urge anyone with information about Mr. Delaney’s whereabouts to contact the Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131. We hope Mr. Delaney is found safely. Our thoughts continue to be with him and his family.”

For days after, FCPD, community groups, friends, and family combed the area while alerts were plastered on social media platforms. On May 14, FCPD announced its was suspending the search, though the department conducted at least one more helicopter-assisted search prior to the end of the month.

Delaney was still not found.

Read More

Local police are searching for a Herndon resident who went missing in late May.

According to the Herndon Police Department, Joshua Bowman, 27, of Herndon, was last seen several days before a missing persons report was filed on May 27.

Bowman is African American, is 5’10”, and weighs around 170 pounds, according to HPD.  He was last seen on the 700 block of Barbaralynn Place.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call 703-435-6486.

Virginia State Police Issue Alert for Missing Reston Resident — The state’s police department issued an alert for missing Reston resident Michael Delaney, 75, who was last seen leaving Reston Hospital Center on May 10. Local police have suspended an active search for the Reston resident, who suffers from a cognitive impairment. [Virginia State Police]

Good Deed Alert: Stuff the Bus is Today — Fastran buses will be parked at locations throughout the county for donations. The Reston location is at the Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s Office, which is located at 1801 Cameron Glen Drive. Donations from that location will go directly Cornerstones. [Fairfax County Government]

Reston Man Charged with Second DWI — “A man was arrested in Ashburn May 14 after reportedly causing a vehicle collision while impaired, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the 44000 block of Allderwood Terrace around 9:24 a.m. and reportedly found the striking driver to be under the influence of alcohol. Julio F. Aragon, 30, of Reston, was charged with driving while intoxicated — his second offense.” [Loudoun Times-Mirror]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

The Fairfax County Police Department is asking the public to help find a 75-year-old Reston resident who went missing Sunday night.

Police said Michael Delaney was seen shortly after 9 p.m. in the 1800 block of Town Center Parkway. He is 6’3”, 170 pounds, and has blue eyes and gray hair. ,

He was last seen wearing a yellow hospital gown, jeans, and a black jacket.

Police believe he is endangered due to physical or mental health concerns.

Anyone with more information should call 703-691-2131.

Our Search and Rescue Team is still working to find #missing Michael Delaney. They are in the area of the Reston hospital and neighborhoods around North Shore Dr. Below is a picture of him from last night when he went missing. Please call 703-691-2131 if you see him. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/6xT9rhclNB

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 12, 2020

Missing Reston Man Found — Steven Stoller, 59, went missing on Monday when he left Bethesda, Maryland. He was located safe and unharmed on Tuesday, according to police. [Montgomery County Police Department]

Comscore Expands into West and Southern Africa — The Reston-based company is expanding its box office measurement services to nine African countries, including Nigeria and South Africa. Company executives say the move can capture the effectiveness of the African film market — one of the “most remarkable cultural developments in recent decades.” [Comscore]

Planning Commission Vote on Prince Towne and Reston Heights Development Proposal Tonight — The panel is expected to vote on scaling back already approved plans for Reston Heights, a mixed-use development already in progress on Sunrise Valley Drive. A vote is also expected on plans for single-family homes on the north side of West Ox Road. [Fairfax County Planning Commission]

Flickr pool photo by vantagehill

Local police are searching for a Herndon man who may be endangered due to mental or physical health issues.

James Hampson, 52, was last seen on Oct. 29 near the 700 block of Center Street in Herndon. It is possible he may be in the Aldie area, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

He is roughly 6’1” and weight 180 pounds. He may also be in a Black 2002 Ford Expedition with Virginia tags VXJ -9037.

Anyone with information should call 703-691-2131.

Photo via FCPD

Sharing common ground — Fairfax County officials have launched a new newsletter to keep the interfaith community informed of events and opportunities in the area. [Fairfax County Government]

Missing man found — Hassan Sultan, a 48-year-old missing endangered adult, was found today. He was last seen in the 2000 block of Maleady Drive in Herndon. [Fairfax County Police Department]

Problems with Alexandria’s Potomac Yard station — As the Silver Line makes its way into Virginia, there are some lessons to be learned about the need for well-designed entrances and information displays. [Washingtonian]

A hitchhiker on a Lake Anne boat (Photo by Beth Allgaier).

Local police have found a missing endangered adult, according to a statement released by the Fairfax County Police Department released Friday afternoon. 

Earlier:

Susan Carstens, 51, was last seen in Reston Wednesday night. 

The Fairfax County Police Department issued the following description of Carstens, who is considered an endangered due to possible mental and/or physical health concerns:

5’7″,185 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. Tattoos on both legs. Bronze 2013 Hyundai Tucson VA tags VXK8791.

Anyone with information should call FCPD at 703-691-2131.

Photo via FCPD