$10K reward offered in Cassandra Gross disappearance
Oct. 23—Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps investigators solve the disappearance of Cassandra Gross.
Anyone with tips for police can remain anonymous.
Gross, 51, was last seen April 7, 2018. She called her mother while driving on Route 30 to her home in Unity after having lunch with a friend in Southwest Greensburg. She was reported missing two days later, and Baxter, her blind, diabetic dog was found wandering alone in the Beatty Crossroads area.
In the days afterward, her Mitsubishi Outlander was found burned along a rail line near Twin Lakes Park. State police conducted several searches in the immediate aftermath and in the years since. The case has been classified as a homicide.
Gross has not been found.
Family and friends of Gross initially put up a $10,000 reward in July 2018 for information on her whereabouts. But that later was rescinded after searches conducted by her mother, Kathe Gross, led her to believe that her daughter's body had been burned.
"I think it's a nice gesture," she said of the new reward. "It would've been a nice gesture 3 1/2 years ago."
Investigators have focused their searches on two properties belonging to Thomas G. Stanko, 50, of Unity, who has been jailed for the past three years on unrelated state and federal charges. Stanko, who at one time dated Gross, has repeatedly maintained his innocence.
Prosecutors said in December that they anticipated filing homicide charges against Stanko, but the case was delayed by turnover in the district attorney's office as well as a federal gun case. Jury selection is set to start in federal court Dec. 13.
Anyone with information can call 1-800-4PA-TIPS.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .
