Contact us, says daughter; family baffled, no leads
TIVERTON — Authorities and the family of a 52-year-old Tiverton man who went missing Tuesday morning, March 10, still have no idea what has become of him and continue their inquiries into his fate and whereabouts.
“I miss him and I love him, and if he’s out there we want him to get in contact with us,” said Kristen DeSilva, 26, his daughter. “We love him and that’s not going to change.”
Joseph DeSilva, who worked as a representative of Core-Mark, a distributor of packaged snack foods, had left his home in Dadson Estates on Bulgarmarsh Road in Tiverton early that Tuesday morning to begin a series of regular business stops in Fall River, New Bedford, the Cape, and Taunton.
He was last seen the morning of his disappearance when he made his first stop of the day at Peter’s Package Store in Fall River between 8 and 9 a.m.
He never made the later stops, however. Mr. DeSilva was driving a company car, a late model black Ford Taurus, with Massachusetts license plate 81DE33.
The mystery has taken its toll on his wife, Kelly DeSilva, and the family, said the daughter. “It’s getting harder and harder for my mom,” she said. “She’s been crying a lot and getting a lot of help from the people around us.”
“We’re basically taking it one day at a time,” she said.
Ms. DeSilva has been given a leave of absence form her work as a teller in a Middletown bank while the search continues.
Annette DeRosier, a long-time friend of the wife and daughter, has been nearby and assisting them since the disappearance. Ms. DeRosier said the car has not been seen and that there are no leads.
“There’s nothing to go on,” she said. “It’s so baffling. Nothing makes sense.”
Ms. DeRosier said that the family is saying to the missing man, “if you’re out there, please come home.”
As for what comes next, the daughter said, “the next step, the only thing we can do, is wait and see what happens.”
She said the police in Tiverton and Fall River have been very helpful in keeping them informed. Tiverton Police Lieutenant Patrick W. Jones said Monday that the investigation remains open and that Tiverton police are working closely with police in Fall River where he was last seen.
This is one of the saddest incidents I've heard of and I feel very sorry for the family. I just want you to know that your fellow Friends here in Boston MA are thinking about you and praying for you. Someone got a news video about this in their email and it's circulating throuought the grapevine as I type. I got it from my niece in Maryland. I hope someone somewhere who knows something will see it and come forward. Of course we should never underestimate the police, who, I'm sure, are doing the best they can, given the time they have to work on your case. After all, there are other crimes they have to investigate and their staff is limited. But we Friends can certainly contribute a helping hand. When my special-needs sister was missing one day, the Friends passed the word around and they located her about 5 hours later. Maybe it'll work for you too. Also, see if you can't hire your own tracking dog and take him into some wooded areas or places he may have been through. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. I wish you blessings!!
I hope all ends well. My prayers go out to his family that he is found "safe & sound".
I am certainly not trying to upset anyone. It was mentioned that he carried a large amount of cash. If he was very timely on his route, someone may have had an interest. Abduction???
Mr. DeSilva and his family will be in my thoughts. I must say that it intrigues me that they have yet to locate his car.
