NEW HAVEN -- New Haven police officially suspended the search for Emanuel Ramos this afternoon, according to Chief of Police David Hartman.
Several factors have made New Haven police very concerned in their search for a 37-year-old missing Hamden man.
Emmanuel Ramos, whose parents have described as mentally disturbed, ran away from his father at approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday, while the two were visiting the summit of East Rock Park.
Given the bitter cold conditions expected to settle in through Friday, time is indeed running short to find a man described as being 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 240 to 280 pounds. He was sad to have been wearing black camouflage pants and a gray sweatshirt when he disappeared Wednesday.
Police first began searching the 100+ acre East Rock Park at approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday. Before dark, they say there were two sightings of Ramos.
A Hamden police officer reportedly saw him from a distance, but couldn't catch up to him before he again disappeared.
And about an hour later, a New Haven firefighter said he saw Ramos running up a trail back toward the summit.
Ramos did not have a cell phone, so police could not ping it for a location. So, at approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday, New Haven police received assistance from the Westchester County (NY) Police Department, who sent their chopper to New Haven to conduct a thorough search.
New Haven police say the helicopter, equipped with forward-looking infrared, circled the park between 60 and 80 times, slicing it in sections.