By THE GOSHEN NEWS
A Goshen businessman who was reported missing in December and then involved in a head-on collision on U.S. 6 in Noble County has had a theft report filed against him.
Duane A. Troyer, 48, 316 Denver Ave., who owns Troyer & Associates, a real estate and auction business, is accused in a police report of the theft of more than $48,000. A local corporation, CPAR LLC of Goshen, has filed the complaint with Goshen police.
Terry Smith of CPAR was contacted by The Goshen News and declined to comment on his company’s complaint.
Goshen Police Adjutant Joe Brown said CPAR is a group of real estate investors. He said the case remains under investigation.
Troyer is currently a patient at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne and is listed as being in fair condition.
According to Indiana State Police, who investigated the Dec. 18 crash, Troyer was flown to Parkview Hospital by helicopter after his 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with a semitrailer on U.S. 6 at 2:24 p.m. Troyer was seriously injured in the crash. He was not wearing his seatbelt and was thrown from his Jeep, according to police.
Trooper David Caswell reported Troyer was driving east, east of C.R. 525 West in Noble County, when his vehicle crossed the centerline and collided with the semi.
Caswell wrote in his crash report that the semi driver, William Chapman of Walkerton, reported he saw Troyer’s vehicle cross the centerline and speed up as it approached. Chapman told Caswell he braked his truck, blew the truck’s horn and swerved to the northside of the road but Troyer’s vehicle continued toward his truck. The truck driver reported he then swerved his rig toward the south side of the road and Troyer’s vehicle continued toward his truck and the vehicles collided on the centerline.
Troopers said they checked Troyer’s vehicle registration on the police department’s computer and found “The driver of vehicle 1, Duane Troyer, was a missing person and was listed as depressed and possibly suicidal.”
Prior to that crash, Goshen police received a report on Dec. 16 from Troyer’s wife, Jeanne, listing him as missing.
That report states Troyer was last seen by his wife at 6 a.m. Dec. 15. One of his employees reported to police that he saw a single-shot shotgun in Troyer’s vehicle several days before he went missing. Also, the police report states “there had been a problem” between Troyer’s former business partner, who also is a relative, and police were concerned, “He could be of harm to himself or to his cousin.”
Client unpaid
Tim Haines of Goshen said he owns five local properties and that Troyer & Associates managed one of them for him.
Troyer & Associates would arrange renters, collect and hold security deposits and collect monthly rent payments for local landlords.
Haines said his renters paid Troyer & Associates for December, but he has yet to receive the money. It is the first time in more than a year of working with Troyers that there has been a problem, he said.
“I’ll make up the difference,” Haines said. “I wouldn’t want to do that to my renters. They did what they were supposed to do.”
It could be worse as Haines estimates he’s only out between $600 and $700. He said he has tried to contact the company, but there is no answer. Former Troyer employees, he said, have told him that they don’t work there anymore.
The Goshen News called Troyer & Associates during business hours Monday and was only able to leaves messages on an answering machine.
A sign on the front of the business’s door at 302 S. Main states that the office is temporarily closed.
“It’s not a good situation,” Haines said. “I went to my renters and told them not to pay Troyers anymore, just to be sure.”
There was no answer at the Troyer home when a reporter knocked on the door this morning.
Troyer’s business sold real estate, conducted auctions and managed rental property.
The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency reported today that Troyer’s auction and real estate licenses are in good standing with the state.
According to Goshen News Publisher Jim Kroemer, in 2008 The Goshen News discontinued accepting advertisements from Troyer & Associates because of unpaid bills.
