More bones found near site of Baron's remains; brother of suspect shocked at arrest

May 18—OLD FORGE — Seven weeks later, Keith Schuback still finds his younger brother's arrest for the killing of Robert Baron Sr. a shock.

The day investigators returned to the area Baron's remains were found, Schuback acknowledged the arrest was not entirely a surprise.

Rumors of Justin Schuback's involvement in Baron's disappearance, and then-confirmed killing, dogged the Schuback family almost as soon as the restaurateur went missing in January 2017.

As officials from multiple agencies returned Thursday to Pagnotti Park to search for a few hours for more evidence — a search that ultimately turned up more bones — Keith Schuback said he does not know if his brother killed Baron, but he does know "he's not the type" to carry out a murder.

"It's shocking, to say the least," Keith Schuback, 43, said.

Justin Schuback, 37, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 25 before Magisterial District Judge Terrence V. Gallagher on counts of criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, theft and abuse of corpse.

Attorney Bernard Brown, an attorney assigned to represent Schuback, anticipated the preliminary hearing will move forward as scheduled. It had been twice continued since Schuback's arrest and arraignment March 31.

Ahead of the proceeding, members of the state police, Old Forge police, Lackawanna County district attorney's office and county coroner's office returned to the area where they found Baron's remains earlier this year.

Police found "additional skeletal remains" believed to be that of Baron, but identification is pending further investigation, Coroner Tim Rowland said. They have not found Baron's upper torso and head and Rowland said they plan to search again.

They cleared out by the early afternoon Thursday.

Trooper Robert Urban, a spokesman for the Dunmore-based Troop R, said Thursday's search was merely "follow-up" ahead of pending legal proceedings in the case, and not the result of new information.

Messages left for District Attorney Mark Powell, and borough Police Chief Jason Dubernas were not returned.

While investigators started to gather Thursday morning at Pagnotti Park to begin their trek into the woods, Keith Schuback stooped to clean trash out of the yard of his family's Foundry Street home, less than a mile away.

He said he hopes to see his brother — who he said he loves and called a "good person" — at next week's hearing though did not know if his schedule as a contractor would permit him to attend. He last spoke with Justin Schuback by phone the night he went to the Lackawanna County Prison, where he remains held without bail.

Regarding the homicide, Justin Schuback's name had been an open secret in Old Forge for years. Nicole Baron, one of the then-missing man's daughters, confronted Schuback's mother, Gayle Piccolini, several years ago.

In an interview Thursday, Keith Schuback said a tactical team "burst" into their home weeks after Baron vanished. They held him at gunpoint. The red dots of their laser sights were trained on his chest.

Court records show a March 30, 2017, search warrant found a small amount of drugs that led to a drug prosecution against Justin Schuback.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.