Missing Couple Found Dead
BY LIZ GOFF

A Ridgewood family’s nightmare is now over, but their pain is just beginning.

The pilot of a helicopter chartered by the family of Wayne and Dianne Guay spotted the couples’ white Mazda in a swamp off I-95 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on December 11.

The couple, formerly of Queens, was found dead inside the car, which was heavily damaged on the front driver side, said a spokesperson for the North Carolina state police.

The pilot, Shane Duffy, said the family reached out to Executive Helicopter over the weekend for help in locating the couple after local police failed to take action. Duffy said that while he assisted in locating the Mazda, he “can’t take all the credit” for finding the car. ‘At the same time we arrived at the search area, an engineer from the North Carolina Department of

Transportation noticed tracks in

some grass leading to the swamp and called for help,” Duffy said.

“There were no visible skid marks on the roadway, but from the air we were able to see where the car had skidded and veered off the highway into the swamp,” Duffy said. “The top of the car and the sunroof was clearly visible from the air, and based on the visual the car appeared to be submerged in about five feet of water.”

Police in North Carolina said the back seat of the car was filled with Christmas gifts, each neatly wrapped and ready to place under the family tree.

The couple, 57-year-old Wayne Guay, a retired City Sanitation worker and 55-year-old Dianne Guay, a retired city teacher’s aide, told their children they were planning to leave their home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at 4 a.m. on December 7, headed to Queens for a family Christmas celebration and a visit with their grandchildren.

Daughter Jessica Guay, 32, said the family expected her parents to arrive in Ridgewood, in time for dinner that night. They never arrived and never contacted their children to say they had been delayed, Jessica Guay said.

Family members said over the four days the couple was missing their thoughts verged from the possibility that the couple had been carjacked and robbed to fear they might have been involved in an accident.

Daughter Megan Liendo, 27, left her Whitestone home on December 8 and headed for her parents’ home, hoping either to find them there or to find clues to their whereabouts.

Liendo said when she arrived at the Myrtle Beach home the Mazda was gone, and it appeared her parents had left for the trip to Queens as scheduled.

Liendo spent four days pleading with police to help her search for her parents. She said police in Myrtle Beach “refused to take her seriously” and would not enter an active search for her parents, “because they were not elderly”.

“We were never interviewed by police, there was no investigation,” Liendo said. She also said the family paid for two helicopter searches over the four days her parents were missing because “the police refused to search by air for the car”.

It was during the second family-financed search that the car was spotted, Liendo said.

“The police completely ignored us,” she said.

The couple had a large amount of cash and a valuable coin collection with them – items they intended to give as Christmas gifts, the family said.

“We weren’t sure what to think,” said son-inlaw Daniel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez spoke to reporters outside the family home in Ridgewood on Monday night after the couple’s children learned of their parents’ fate.

“It seems like it was an accident,” Rodriguez said. “They went off the road, crashed through a divider and into the swamp. They were wonderful people. For something like this to happen, it’s just devastating.”

Police in North Carolina said the Guays traveled 226 miles on their Christmas trip before the car left the road and landed in the swamp. The Mazda was apparently traveling northbound on I- 95, 40 miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina when it veered off the road at a point where Interstate 40 intersects with I-95. The car skidded down an embankment and hit a tree before it dove into the swamp, police said. Statistics show that I-95 is the most dangerous highway in the nation.

North Carolina police are awaiting the results of an autopsy on the couple to determine the exact cause of death. Police said they expect the results will determine if Wayne Guay, who suffered from diabetes, lost control of the car due to complications of the disease or if he suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel. Dianne Guay’s cellphone was found turned off inside her purse, local police said.

Police are also searching for a caller who dialed 911 at about 7:30 a.m. on December 7 to report a collision “at or near” the site where the Mazda veered off the road. A spokesperson said local police responded to the call, but when the cops arrived there was no sign of an accident.

“It’s not unusual for officers responding to a 911 call of an accident on the highway to run into a dead end,” the spokesperson said. “Many times, drivers involved in these accidents just keep going.”

Police in North Carolina said they have no information that would indicate the 911 caller was referring to an accident involving the Guays and another vehicle.

“The department will perform an autopsy on the vehicle,” the spokesperson said. “Investigators will check the tires, they’ll check for structural damage, for any mechanical defect or to determine if the car was struck by another vehicle that forced it off the road.”

Wayne and Dianne Guay retired to Myrtle Beach five years ago to escape harsh New York winters, family members said. They settled in an oceanside community near the home of their son, Thomas, 21, and his young daughter. Wayne Guay spent much of his time working on his coin collection, while Dianne worked part time at a local discount store, the family said.

The couple returned to Queens frequently, making the drive to Ridgewood as often as five times each year. “They always called to let us know if they were delayed by traffic or if they had a problem with the car,” Liendo said. “They never left us guessing where they were, or if they were in trouble.”

Liendo said the family wanted to thank the New York City Police Department for the help Queens cops gave the family during the search. “They took us seriously,” she said. “They took the time to work with us, to give us ideas and suggestions. They were wonderful.”

Neighbors in Ridgewood said they were shocked and saddened to learn the couple had been found dead.

“It’s a tragic end for a couple who loved their children, loved life and loved each other dearly,” said a nearby homeowner.

Liendo said the family “will be stronger now than (we) have ever been. We will rely on each other to get through this,” she said.

Rodriguez said the family would now turn its thoughts from the planned Christmas festivities to “making arrangements” for a double funeral for his in-laws.

A woman who described herself as a family friend held back tears as she left the home of Jessica Guay on Monday night.

“This is just so awful for these kids,” she said. “But at least their long wait is over.”