Associate Professor Thomas Short Jr. was recently reported missing in Ohio when he did not show up for Thanksgiving dinner. When his family did not receive word after their attempts to contact him on his phone, they went to the hotel where he had been staying in Orange Village. His phone, suitcase and car were found in the parking lot — with no sign of Short. Philly Voice reported that Short’s sister, Amy Beltano, claims he never picked up his room reservation key or attempted to contact his family. In her social media posts, Beltano describes a grocery store receipt found from the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving at the local store near their parents house, but no other information was available.
Professor Short is an associate professor in the math department at West Chester University. He received his master’s and PhD at Carnegie Mellon University and conducts research in statistical consulting as well as collaboration. He is married with four adult children.
‘We as a family are so thankful for everyone who has offered love and support.’
“He has a heart toward nursing students and helping them understand how statistics affects them as nurses,” Amy Beltano said in a conversation I had with her over Facebook. She is currently posting about the ongoing investigation on her Facebook page with recent updates on the investigation.
“I have been blown away by the volume of messages that I’ve received from Tom’s friends and colleagues,” she said. “He is much loved and appreciated. To describe him, they use words like, ‘kind,’ ’funny’ and ‘intelligent’. I could not agree more with their assessment of my brother.”
Though he was expected to arrive on Nov. 21, he had arrived three days earlier without telling them. She said that the police had identified him using a credit card on that day, Nov. 18 over video surveillance, but has not been seen or heard from since. Beltano’s original Facebook posting about Short’s disappearance has been shared on social media over 32,000 times with numerous news agencies reporting on Short’s disappearance. Short’s family has posted missing person posters across numerous cities in hopes that somebody has seen him.
“We as a family are so thankful for everyone who has offered love and support,” Beltano said. “Including Tom’s WCU family.”
Short’s family currently has a GoFundMe circulating to fund a private investigation into Professor Short’s whereabouts. The funding will go towards a certified private investigator who may be able to uncover more clues on Professor Short’s details and location. Any money leftover from the fund will go towards another missing person’s fund or a scholarship in Professor Short’s name in the hopes that the investigation will be quick and that Short will be found.
In less than 24 hours, the GoFundMe raised over $12,000. But, Beltano emphasized that they still have a long way to go.
“The lowest estimate for a PI is $25,000 but could reach $50,000. If I could ask for anything it would be to share the Facebook posts on my public page. And, if possible, donate the money that would have bought your next cup of coffee – every penny helps,” stated Beltano on what people can do to help.
Finally, Beltano told me that her brother loves to break out into song – something that she loves about him.
The GoFundMe page to help fund Professor Shrot’s whereabouts can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/find-dr-tom-short. Anyone with information on Professor Short’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Orange Village, Ohio police department at 440-247-7321. The Quad encourages students, faculty and staff to keep Professor Short and his family in their thoughts as the investigation continues.
Samantha Walsh is a third-year student majoring in special education and English with a minor in Autism studies. SW850037@wcupa.edu