Police are still searching for a gay Florida State University student who went missing almost two weeks ago, leading some to speculate the family’s reluctance to confirm his homosexuality may be hindering the search.
According to reports, 23-year-old Ryan Uhre watched the first half of the Super Bowl with his fraternity brothers at a local Tallahassee bar. He left the bar at halftime to pick up an order of to-go food “a few doors down” at Andrew’s Bar & Grill and subsequently vanished.
Uhre, a psychology student and law school hopeful, was reportedly last seen leaving the bar wearing a Hawaiian shirt. His fraternity brothers told Local 10 it wasn’t unusual for him to disappear for weekends, but called police as soon as he didn’t show for work on February 7.
The media initially did not report the fact that Uhre is gay, a point South Florida Gay News publisher Norm Kent thinks could be crucial in solving the case. “He came out to his gay high school teacher a few years ago,” Kent wrote in an editorial, adding that Uhre’s father refused to discuss his son’s disappearance with the gay media:
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Every news story is painfully short of facts, beyond that he was seen leaving Andrew’s Capital Grille and then a convenience store, in Tallahassee, alone. And no one is using the ‘gay word,’ which is sheer stupidity. It is the clue that could help us find him, or at the very least, give us a place to look.
Tragically, even his own father, traumatized by his son’s disappearance, won’t discuss his son’s sexuality. Three times on Tuesday, he hung up on me, stating that a discussion of this sort “won’t help anything.” Yes, it might, dad. Unfortunately, pained though you are, this lead could very well help open up hidden doors. Young gay men and women have been hiding behind them for too long.
Kent more or less hints that because Uhre was not “openly gay” to everyone he knew, he could possibly be the victim of the type of crime police are not currently looking into, whether it be a hate crime, gay abduction, etc.
Anyone with information about Ryan Uhre is urged to contact the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-606-5800 or call CrimeStoppers at 850-574-TIPS to remain anonymous.
Mezaien
Ryan Uhre, come home my man people love you and want to know you are OK. I got 4 boys and 2 girls if one was going missing I would have shit in my pants.
Black Pegasus
Maybe the parent were reluctant about sharing his sexual orientation because it wasn’t relevant nor was it anyone’s business. Why was it important to label him “missing gay man” as oppose to a missing “college student”?
And here’s another bomb: If he wasn’t nice looking, Queerty wouldn’t have ran the story.
ncman
@Black Pegasus: did you read the story? It gives the reasons why his sexual orientation would be very relevant.
Dixie Rect
Gay, not gay, the guy just disappeared, help if you can.
seraphx9
@Black Pegasus: It’s important that it’s noted that he’s gay because statistically, he could be in greater danger because of his sexuality. Gay people are more likely to face violence than their straight counterparts.
oilburner
He’s dead my friend Monica who is kinda psychic said he’s dead and my likely was murdered by a gay hook up gone wrong. Look @ his Grindr and A4A profiles. Monica says you’ll find out there
charwegl
@seraphx9: That’s a very far reach. Queerty has ran this story saying “some speculate” when it’s basically one guy from a small south florida publication with no evidence to back it up. The guy went missing and I’m sure the authorities are going down every avenue. There is no evidence that they botched the investigation because he was gay and the cops don’t like that. Furthermore a couple’s son is missing and this asshole keeps calling their house trying to write a story that doesn’t seem to be based on much evidence. Of course they hung up on him.
seaguy
Dad is either too stupid/ignorant to realize he is not helping the search for his son by refusing to talk to gay media. Does he not get the idea that even if his son was not gay the more coverage this gets the better the chances of finding him are.
Or it could be he is just a hateful man who does not care if his son is dead or alive he just wants the gay to go away. Well dad if that is how you are I hope when your time is up that you enjoy your stay in hell because that is where people like you go.
Hope he is found ok and alive.
seaguy
@oilburner: I called Dionne Warwick at the Psychic Friends network and she said your friend Monica is a fake.
rickhfx
Hopefully his str8 fraternity brothers didn’t have anything to do with his missing, knowing how violent as well as anti gay many str8 people are.
tjr101
Not to discount in anyway the disappearance of this young man, but in America thousands of gay kids go missing every year, Black Pegasus has a point. Is it because he happens to be good looking? Queerty is disingenuous in this aspect.
I am also not going to question the motives of the father in this case. Besides the gay media, has he spoken to any type of media? Not knowing where your child is can be traumatizing.
Gigi Gee
@Black Pegasus: How sad it must be to live in your head.
DShucking
@Black Pegasus: *run. Wouldn’t have run the story.
domen8r
if he does have hookup apps, i hope the police are following those up for help. Sure, it’s possible Queerty chose to run this story because he’s traditionally attractive, just as it’s possible the choice of a metaphor like “Pegasus” is more macho/sexual than another mythical creature (like a unicorn). But the story as covered by Queerty focused more on the possible “re-closeting” than it did on his physicality…in fact didn’t mention it at all. They ran a pic for help in leads, and the pic showed someone traditionally handsome. What’s sadder still is the possibility that his family (or at least his dad) would rather have his son’s possible memory kept in the closet than his son’s fate investigated as quickly as possible.
corey
Human remains found in trunk of burning car:
“Ryan Uhre, of Weston, has been missing for more than a week, but his father Michael Uhre said Monday he had no reason to believe the remains in the car had anything to do with his 23-year-old son.
The younger Uhre recently began working in the office of Florida Rep. Richard Stark, D-Weston. Friends and family have been searching for him, and have handed out fliers in Broward County.
He was last seen in Tallahassee on Feb. 2, and police there are investigating his disappearance.
The Broward County medical examiner will try to identify the remains found in the car, BSO said.
The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.”
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-human-remains-in-burned-car-20140210,0,6650249.story
corey
Ps why did his “friends” wait 5 days to call anyone? They even said it wasn’t like him to just take off. Then “left the bar at halftime to pick up an order of to-go food “a few doors down” at Andrew’s Bar & Grille” did he pick it up? Did the police question if they saw him with anyone? Is there video footage other than what they have? This has to many wholes and souls like sloppy police work, unless I’ve just seen to many episodes of SVU.
corey
Pps little more info may help build a scenario:
“Police tell us he was out with friends, then went to Andrew’s for some food, then back to Clyde’s. From there, they say another trip to Andrew’s less than an hour later, and then headed to Kleman Plaza. From there, he has not been seen or heard from by family or friends since.” (http://tallahasseeo.com/2014/02/15/fsu-students-react-to-missing-ryan-uhre-why-did-it-take-longer-than-24-hours-for-tpd-officers-to-get-off-donut-eating-asses-to-investigate-disappearance-evidence-is-lost-by-time-and-weather-condit/)
I assume Clyde’s is the bar they were all at, Kleman Plaza sounds like a mall or some place that is very public and would have security cameras. The plot thickens!!!
misterhollywood
Sad to see that this kind of crap (anti-gay media) stuff is still going on. Ridiculous.
sangsue
My guess is that it might have something to do with his family. If his family didn’t accept him (the father at least) he might have offed himself.
AdamNichols
@corey: Actually they said the opposite… the friends said “it WASN’T unusual for him to disappear for weekends” which is why they weren’t immediately worried that he was MIA. However, they called police as soon as he didn’t show for work on February 7. How about we stop assuming that every straight person is completely against gays (just like we wouldn’t want straight people to assume every gay person is bad). His friends aren’t the bad guys here.
fsunole88
I am glad you wrote this article, Matthew. I am a gay student at FSU and when I heard Ryan went missing via the email the university sent out to everyone, I immediately recognized him from the gay hookup App, Grindr. Some people do not use it to hookup, regardless, if Ryan was using Grindr at the bar he was last seen at, I had a personal suspicion that this crime could be Grindr-related. I am thinking that he left the bar with his straight friends to meet up with someone off Grindr. I even had a 2-hour long conversation with my mother who works with criminal files and we agree that a pre-law student would not willingly trespass into an abandoned building downtown, blocks away from his internship. That’s without a doubt in my mind. Even if he was heavily intoxicated, no one in their wrong-mind would say, “Hey me, let’s climb this building BY MYSELF and see what’s in there.” His father did not want people to know he was gay. That’s horrid——makes me sick! Since then, I deleted my profile on the App. It’s just too risky, meeting up with gay people who we don’t even know their names. I do not believe there was no foul play in this. I want a definite answer. Till then, I cannot stop thinking about Ryan.
Hermes
@Black Pegasus: @Black Pegasus: Great goddess man – of course his sexuality matters. If I were to suddenly vanish – what would the possibility be that I was murdered by the jilted husband of a straight woman? Why zero of course. I don’t do random meet ups having been partnered for a quarter century – but if I did – what would be the possibility I had been lured to some remote location and kidnapped or killed by a cute male hookup? MUCH higher obviously. It is an important characteristic. There are many such, its not the only one – but race, career, sexuality, gender – those things MATTER in this type of case.
stanhope
@DShucking: @Black Pegasus: That bomb exploded. I agree, if he weren’t “good looking” this story would not have appeared. That another commenter recognized him from Grindr would suggest that looking into some gay aspect to his disappearance only makes sense. The father therefore is mistaken not to speak to gay media to further the investigation. By the way, this is Florida. Lots and lots of homophobes down there.
rickhfx
“stop assume every straight person is bad” really? They are bad, narrow minded, fast to become violent, most are bigoted, have very fragile egos and become very defensive if they are assumed gay, try it on them.. Most don’t believe that homophobia is a real thing, how can they they cause it. Much more than half support religion and its hateful message. Most are ignorant to any idea of the savage bigotry we have and still are subjected to, and don’t care. Are unable to acknowledge the gay bigotry they have subjected us too. After decades of reading on the matter and tons of therapy, plus trying out the “theory” on straight people my opinion has only become more validated.
When was the last time you were the subject of homophobia from a gay person? Never!
I limit my exposure to straight people as much as possible, they are like a poison to your wellbeing.
Never forget they didn’t give us the small amount of equality we have today out of kindness and ethics, we had to demand it.
Leave them with their religion, guns and love of war, maybe they will kill each other off in time, we can only hope.
Bitter, no just very aware and informed.