Authorities say human remains may be connected to case of missing Pennsylvania pizza shop owner

Authorities in the self-proclaimed “Pizza Capital of the World” discovered human remains Tuesday while investigating the 2017 disappearance of a beloved chef.

Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell, in a Facebook post Wednesday, said investigators discovered human remains in the Connell’s Patch section of Old Forge. Authorities were searching a strip mine and park in connection with Robert Baron’s suspicious disappearance, six years ago.

“While we are hopeful that they are the remains of Robert Baron Sr., we will have to await DNA testing to confirm the identity,” Powell said in the post. “I have spoken with the Baron family and remain hopeful that we can provide them with the closure they deserve.”

Baron, 58, was the owner of Ghigiarelli’s, one of about a dozen unique pizza shops in Old Forge, a small Lackawanna County town about 120 miles north of Philadelphia. Baron was last seen Jan. 25, 2017, when he dropped his son off at his apartment in town about 11 p.m.

Investigators found blood, a tooth, and cleaning supplies scattered at his pizza shop, the daily delivery of dough still outside. Baron’s car was found about a mile away, by the Lackawanna River, not long after. Investigators found blood inside and out of the car, too.

Photos from social media showed Old Forge police cruisers parked near a wooded area Tuesday.

Powell, on Tuesday, said investigators believe there are still people who know more about Baron’s disappearance who haven’t come forward.

“Additionally, people may be hesitant to share information due to close relationships with others who could have been involved,” Powell said. “They may be concerned for their own safety or reputation, or they may have been unknowingly brought into a situation by the person or persons responsible. Relationships and loyalties can change, as do people and their perspectives. No matter the circumstances, it is not too late to come forward and help give Robert’s family and friends the answers they deserve.”

When The Inquirer wrote about the case in 2019, two names were mentioned repeatedly as possible suspects.

“Are you paying me?” one man asked a reporter when contacted at the time.

Baron’s family runs the Finding Robert Baron Facebook account. A person answering messages on the account Tuesday said family had only learned of the updates on Tuesday, as they were happening.

Old Forge’s pizza has drawn national attention. Pizza is served on rectangular “trays,” and the individual pieces, about the size of the latest iPhone, are called “cuts.” Ghigiarelli’s, one of Old Forge’s originals, remains closed.

“All he did was work at the restaurant and raise his family,” Baron’s daughter, Brittany, told The Inquirer in 2019. “