In accordance with his supervision philosophy, Moscato was on hand when the kayaks and paddles were delivered on Monday, April 20, to the Montgomery barracks by the fire department. He helped with the unloading process, but not being a kayaker, he noted nothing unusual about the condition of the vessels. He did note that the paddles were not assembled for use—they had been broken down, the ring unscrewed, and the two parts separated, in order to fit in the trooper car.
The following day, the search continued over a ten-mile radius, with assistance from a large number of agencies: the Westchester Department of Public Safety; Rockland County Sheriff; fire departments from Cornwall, West Point, Fort Montgomery, Vails Gate, Stony Point, and the City of Newburgh; police departments from Newburgh, Cornwall-on-Hudson, the Town of New Windsor, and the Town of Cornwall, as well as resources from the state police and other agencies. They all worked together from the staging area at Gully’s boat dock. Official searchers were joined by civilian volunteers—family and friends of Vince, as well as civic-minded strangers. New York State Troopers handed out flyers on both sides of the river to boaters, hikers, fishermen, everyone spotted in the area. They wanted to talk to anyone who had been in the park between 4:00 and 8:00 pm on April 19.
While the ground searchers scanned the shoreline hoping to find Vince injured but alive, the divers were in the water hunting for a body hung up on a tree branch, a rock, or another underwater impediment. The determination of where the water could have carried his body was complicated by the nature of the Hudson. As it was a tidal river, the directions of flow changed twice a day, dragging any mass first in one direction and then in the other. The dive boat also ran a sonar scan with aerial support by helicopter. The scuba team tried to fine-tune projections of where a body would drift as they searched.
Later on that gray, miserable day, Captain Brendan Casey of the New York State Police stood before a bank of microphones before a crowd of reporters. As he spoke, the falling rain bounced off his hat, punctuating his words. “Our investigation has determined that they brought their personal kayaks down to Plum Point and they launched from there and paddled out to Pollepel Island and were on their way back. Again, reports from the female who was rescued were that they had kayaked in the past, they are experienced kayakers. And it is indeed a bit of a cautionary tale if it is true that they are experienced. People should remember that this time of year, the water is very cold, and the weather can change very quickly, and they should use caution if they are out in the water.”
Asked what his challenges were that day, he answered, “We have a state police marine unit in the water with side-scanning sonar. When the water is this rough, it is very difficult to operate, [to] keep your grid line searches uniform and get good readings from the side-scanning sonar. So, they’re going to keep pushing a little bit longer but probably have to call it here in a little bit and we’ll be back out here tomorrow if the weather turns.”
In response to a question about Angelika, he said, “She’s obviously upset about her fiancé and not being able to locate him. She has mild hypothermia, so she was taken to the hospital and treated.”
Casey then commented on why he thought the accident had happened. “The conditions yesterday changed. It was nice during the day and I think that’s what may have lulled them into a sense of complacency. It was a pretty nice day. And then it got cooler and the winds picked up. We’re not sure exactly how long she was in the water, but it was long enough for her to start feeling some effects of hypothermia.”
Sean Von Clauss, Vince’s friend since elementary school, had been in New York City that weekend for a three-day music gig. He returned to his home in Boston on Marathon Monday, April 20. He saw thirty-six missed messages about the accident. Panicked, he went to Angelika’s Facebook page to learn more.
Angelika, like many others who have experienced a traumatic event, posted about her ordeal but did not include any details. She started with a positive message thanking everyone for their concern and insisting that “miracles ARE possible.” She assured everyone that the authorities were doing everything they could, and she expressed concern that no one else get hurt in the dangerous river. She also pleaded for no questions at that time. She concluded her first post on a hopeful note: “We will find him.”
She followed up that entry by updating her profile photo to a romantic black-and-white shot of her and Vince with one of his arms wrapped around her, a hand on her bare shoulder. She also changed her cover picture to one of Vince standing at the end of a narrow pier, holding a glass up in salute. The following day, she shared an image of a candle burning in front of a photo of the two of them on a Carnival Cruise ship, and a photo of Vince holding a glass that she captioned with a wish for a happy “1.7 year anniversary [sic].”
That same day, friend Sheri Parte went to the condo where Vince and Angelika lived to offer whatever comfort she could. “I’m freaking out,” Sheri told Angelika. She tried to get her friend to open up about the past day’s events. “Do you have any photos from when Vinny went missing?” Sheri asked.
“No. I lost my phone. I was talking to nine-one-one and trying to paddle at the same time and a wave swamped the kayak and caused it to capsize,” Angelika said in a calm voice.
Sheri could not believe how mellow and matter-of-fact Angelika seemed about the whole situation. She didn’t think she could maintain any sense of composure if the same thing had happened to her.
On the twenty-second, Angelika changed her profile picture again—this time to another photo of the couple with both of Vince’s arms wrapped around her. She added four more photos to her timeline: a lineup of four silly animal figurines; a snapshot of her cell phone with a photo of her and Vince; a picture of Vince in front of a waterfall; and another of both of them in the same spot. She then posted a message: “I have never felt more grateful in my life than I do now … the most sincere thanks to everyone Vince and I know … and to those we don’t as well!!!”
She changed her profile photo again the next day to one of a flower bed beside the river, with the Bannerman Castle in the background. She also shared a disturbing photograph of herself, alone in a kayak, paddling across the Hudson River under a dark and ominous sky. She captioned the post: “If only I could have paddled harder, dammit…”
Angelika had unsettled Sheri in the immediate aftermath of the accident, but seeing that photograph disturbed her on a deeper level. She told People magazine: “It’s kind of creepy that she’s there alone and it’s a stormy day. It was kind of freaky.”
In the next few days, suspicions about Angelika loomed larger in the thoughts of more and more people. Soon a great many of them would begin to view Angelika in a less than positive light.