Missing since late April, Montco barber found dead

Police are investigating the death of a Montgomery County barber who was missing for over a week and whose body was discovered Wednesday in a parking lot in Lansdale.

The body of Daniel Torres was found by police at the Twin Pines apartment complex, off the 700 block of West Eighth Street, according to a police source close to the investigation. Torres, 33, of Lansdale, was last seen leaving a friend's house between 6 and 7 a.m. April 29, according to a missing persons notice.

Torres' body was found in his white Nissan Altima after Lansdale police received a call reporting a suspicious vehicle, the source said, but declined to provide more information, citing an active criminal investigation. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office is also investigating, and a ruling on the cause and manner of death is pending further investigation, the source said.

People who knew Torres said he was a workaholic dedicated to his business, Danny's Barbershop, which he opened Bridgeport in January. He rented one floor of a building on West Fourth Street from Paul A. Keen Jr., who owns Action Lock & Key in the town.

Keen said Torres had worked at Sal's Barbershop in Plymouth Meeting for about two years before he left to start his own business.

"The way he worked, it's like he had something to prove," said Keen, 67.

But after four months of near-nonstop work, Keen said, Torres told him he wanted to take a few days off to unwind in Atlantic City, maybe with a friend. According to the missing person report filed with Pennsylvania State Police, Torres said on Facebook he would be back at work by May 2.

Keen said he expected Torres would call him from New Jersey at some point to check up on his business.

On April 30, Keen said, he called Torres "half a dozen times." The calls immediately went to voicemail, he said.

"Then I started not having a good feeling," Keen said. "He wouldn't not call me, and not not call his mother, who he talked to all the time."

Keen said he couldn't imagine who would have a problem with Torres, who would arrive early at work and stay late to accommodate his customers.

"I didn't see him having any enemies," said Anton Richardson, who had been going to Torres for cuts for about two years. "He was a very friendly guy. He just worked all the time."

In Bridgeport, Torres hung his framed business license in a corner. He commissioned someone to paint "Danny's Barbershop" on a wall in red and blue.

"I just wanted to see him succeed," said Salvatore Giannone, owner of Sal's Barbershop. "He was a great guy. He was a good friend of mine."

Keen, who was a barber himself for seven years, said every barber dreams of owning a shop.

"It's a dream that lasted four months," he said of Danny's Barbershop.