State police took to the air on Thursday as the search intensified
for a 91-year-old federal judge who suffers from memory loss and was
reported missing from his northeastern Pennsylvania home.US District Judge Edwin Kosik, who recently stopped hearing cases because of health issues, takes medication for memory issues and investigators said that might have prompted his disappearance on Tuesday.
US Marshal Martin Pane said authorities have not yet ruled out foul play.
Kosik, who spent more than 30 years on the federal bench, was last seen late Tuesday trying to enter a grocery store pharmacy near his home outside Scranton.
The store was closed and Kosik drove in the opposite direction from his house, Pane said. He left his wallet and phone at home.
"He's a great man who's had a great career and we're hopeful ... that we will have a successful ending to this," Pane said at a news conference at the federal courthouse in Scranton, where Kosik maintained an office.
Electronic highway signs flashed news of the judge's disappearance and officials asked for the public's help in finding him. State police searched the area via helicopter but found no immediate trace of Kosik's gray 2015 Acura SUV, which has driver's-side damage. The FBI joined the investigation.