Federal and local investigators returned to the banks of the Schuylkill River in Manayunk Thursday as they continued their search for Shane Montgomery — the West Chester University senior who went missing after a night out with friends more than two weeks ago.
Thursday morning, members of an FBI task force and Philadelphia Police detectives combed the area around a parking lot across the street from Kildare's Irish Pub — the bar where Shane was last seen.
It was the second consecutive day that investigators focused on the canal, lot and Schuylkill River after new video surfaced showing Shane in the moments after he left the bar.
"This is the last place that we know he came... we don't have any other spot that we know where he came after this," said Philadelphia Police Cpt. James Smith of Northwest Detectives.
Shane, 21, was last seen around 1:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving when he left Kildare's along Main Street in Manayunk.
"We are just retracing our steps and just following up on everything we've had previously... hopefully something will turn up that will help us out in this case," said Smith.
Shane's mother Karen Montgomery said Wednesday investigators had "narrowed down their search."
Recently surfaced video prompted officials to return to the area.
"The only thing that it showed really was that he walked into this parking lot... but never returned," said Smith.
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FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver said that information developed Wednesday showed Shane walking between the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River soon after he left a nearby bar
Crews searched the nearby canal, Schuylkill River and river bank to look for clues in the disappearance of the Roxborough native.
"We're just going to keep searching everywhere until something turns up," said Smith.
The Montgomery family and friends have spent countless hours raising awareness of Shane's disappearance — starting a website, handing out fliers and promoting green ribbons for Shane — in hopes someone saw the WCU senior on Manayunk's Main Street in the early hours of Thanksgiving.
"Somebody knows where Shane is," Shane's mother said in the days after he went missing. "Somebody has to know something so you can't stop... It's a matter of he's our son and I won't ever stop looking for Shane."
The reward for information that helps find Shane Montgomery stands at $65,000 after different groups, including local businesses like Kildare's and Chubby's Steaks, kicked in more money to help with the search for the Roman Catholic High School graduate.
Shane, who weighs about 140 pounds and stands 5-foot-11-inches tall, was wearing a buttoned- down gray shirt, gray hoodie and jeans when he left the bar. He also has a unique Celtic cross tattoo on his shoulder.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Philadelphia Police at 215.686.TIPS or the FBI at 215.418.4000.
