Prayers offered for missing Pomona man
- Peretz Sontag has been missing since Friday
- Police say he made reference to harming himself before disappearing
- Sontag is well known in the Orthodox community for his kind heart and charitable nature
- Numerous law enforcement agencies and volunteer groups have been searching for the 50-year-old
MONSEY – Scores of men and boys prayed Monday evening for the safe return of Peretz Sontag, the Pomona man missing since Friday.
Sontag, 50, is well known in the area's Orthodox community for a kind heart and years of active service in charitable causes, said several of those praying for him at Temple Ahavas Yitzchok on Forshay Road.
"I know it's a cliche, but to know him, really is to love him," Chaim Saperstein, 37, said.
Sontag remains missing, Ramapo police said Tuesday morning.
Ramapo police Sgt. Mike Higgins said Sontag was last seen driving from his home in a 2012, black Kia Optima with New York state license plate FZD-8413. Before disappearing, Sontag had made reference to harming himself, Higgins said.
Authorities pinged Sontag's cell phone Friday afternoon, detecting a signal from the device at a cell tower in the Stony Point area, which includes Harriman State Park.
"Since that time, we've been unable to make any contact with the phone," Higgins said.
Ramapo police have been coordinating efforts with New York State Park Police officers, state troopers and the Stony Point Police Department as well as numerous volunteer agencies working toward Sontag's safe return.
Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the park police, said one of his officers assisted in a search of Harriman on Monday, guiding about 60 volunteers from a Kiryas Joel emergency services unit through parts of the park. Keefe said park police also had extensively searched roads and parking areas throughout the weekend, finding no evidence Sontag had been in the vicinity.
Saperstein, who, as a teenager, served as an occasional babysitter to Sontag's children, said he was surprised to learn of the 50-year-old's alleged suicidal comments.
"I never would have guessed that," he said. "He's always very cheerful. He's a great guy ... he's got a great family."
Anyone with information on Sontag's whereabouts is asked to contact Ramapo police at 845-357-2400.