VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 28-year-old Ormond Beach man, who was believed to have disappeared after leaving his business Tuesday night, flew on his own to Las Vegas early Wednesday morning, investigators told Eyewitness News.
Ronak "Ron" Desai called his wife Tuesday night to say he was on his way home, but he never got there. One part of Desai's business was renting U-Hauls from his family's Jiffy Food Store on Nova Road in Ormond Beach ( see map ). Deputies say the last thing he did before he vanished was rent a truck to someone using a fake name and that created suspicion.
Wednesday afternoon, the U-Haul rented shortly before he closed the business was found at an airport in Jacksonville, but there was no sign of Desai. Investigators initially thought the U-Haul had been stolen and that it may have been connected to the disappearance.
SLIDESHOW: Images Outside Store
Hours later, though, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office revealed it learned Desai boarded a 6:20am flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta where he changed planes and continued to Las Vegas. Investigators said the information was confirmed from credit card records and surveillance video from the airport.
Investigators said Desai purchased the tickets using his first and middle names and surveillance video shows Desai by himself at the Jacksonville airport. They said they don't know why he left town or where he is staying, but said he has not been the victim of foul play.
Desai even called his wife around 9:30pm Tuesday and told her he was 15 minutes away, but never showed up. Employees say a camera captured him minutes after he talked to his wife.
"He was closing up, closing up for the night and then all of a sudden he disappeared," employee Amy Anderson said.
When his family came looking for Desai, the security gates at the Jiffy Food Store were closed, the lights were off, but he was nowhere to be found. They found Desai's truck out front and his cell phone on the ground.
"Who the hell would want to do this, being a 28-year-old man, father of one daughter and a young wife," Desai's uncle Sam Desai said.
Family members were baffled by Desai's disappearance and even more so after the 28-year-old called a family member Wednesday morning. Investigators wouldn't reveal what Desai said, but told Eyewitness News the call offered no clues as to where he was.
Outside the store Wednesday, before the revelation of his location, friends posted signs pleading with the unknown suspect to "bring Ron home."
"I'd give my left leg for Ron. Ron does anything for anybody," store employee Eric Anderson said.
The sheriff's office said the case remains under investigation as it looks into Desai's actions and the circumstances surrounding the incident.