THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601220040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Police are looking into a possible link between the disappearance of two teenage boys who dabbled in the occult and the arrest of a self-proclaimed vampire in Virginia Beach last week.
``The circumstances are coincidental to the vampire case,'' said Larry Hill, a police spokesman. But, he added, ``we're looking into that coincidence.''
Both boys were last seen Thursday, the day Virginia Beach police announced that they had arrested Jon C. Bush, 26. He is charged with sexually assaulting teenage girls who were lured into a clan he allegedly led and which was rooted in a fantasy role-playing game called ``Vampire, The Eternal Struggle.''
Police are certain that one of the boys, Adam Wese, 16, is not a runaway. In the other case, they believe the boy - whose name has not been released - may have run away. But they are uncertain.
Wese, of the 800 block of Little Bay Ave., was last seen at a bus stop near his home Thursday afternoon.
``He had been depressed,'' Hill said of Wese. ``But there is no indication that the young man had any reason to run away. It looks like a missing person case more than arunaway.''
Hill said family members, friends and police have been looking for Wese since his disappearance, but have yet to turn up any trace of him.
``We haven't spoken to anyone who has seen this kid,'' Hill said. ``We've exhausted all the other leads.''
Wese is described as white, 6 feet, 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue, bell-bottom pants and an olive-green sweatshirt.
``There are indications that at least one time, he may have been involved in some occult activities,'' Hill said.
Both Wese and the other missing boy - who, Hill said, also ``allegedly was involved in occult activities'' - were last seen Thursday. Bush was taken into custody Wednesday, and police announced the arrest Thursday.
Police have said that scores of girls may have been assaulted by Bush and Friday said they will seek as many as 25 felony indictments against him. Bush is being held in the Virginia Beach jail on rape and sodomy charges stemming from assaults on two girls, ages 13 and 16.
Police said Bush enticed boys from several schools in Virginia Beach and one in Chesapeake to take part in the game. In turn, the boys were told to recruit young girls.
Investigators have asked that youths involved in the group come forward. But there has been no indication that any other people face charges.
While stressing that there are no firm connections between the missing boys and Bush or his clan, Hill noted that the vampire case is unfolding. Dozens of parents and potential victims are still coming forward and talking to investigators, and it may be weeks before the full scope of that case is known, police have said.
For that reason, Norfolk police are reluctant to quickly dismiss a potential link, Hill said, given the missing boys' apparent interest in the occult.
``It's weird,'' Hill said. ``However, it is a strange coincidence that all this happened at the same time and we're looking into those possibilities to see if there are any ties.''
KEYWORDS: MISSING PERSONS by CNB