True History: Broome Pastor’s Disappearance Blamed on Satan

It may be the most bizarre missing person case in Broome County history.

A former radio station manager who was hired to be the pastor of a church in the town of Maine vanished for 100 days.

The strange case of Donald LaRose made headlines far beyond Binghamton after he was reported missing in early November 1975.

LaRose had been serving as pastor at the First Baptist Church of Maine. He had been managing a Syracuse radio station when he was hired by the church in 1973.

In October 1975, LaRose was in the news when he said he had received threats accusing him of "blasphemy against Satan" because of his preaching. He vanished a few weeks later.

Rallies were held in Broome County to show support for LaRose as a nationwide search was launched. Many of those who attended the events concluded Satan and Satanists were responsible for the pastor's disappearance.

After a private detective hired by the Maine church concluded LaRose had planned his own disappearance, he was dismissed as pastor.

Someone spotted LaRose in a seedy section of Minneapolis on February 12, 1976. He was calling himself "Bruce Williams."

LaRose had a brief reunion in Broome County the following day with his wife Eunice and their two young daughters.

LaRose insisted he had been abducted and indicated he feared that those responsible would harm his family.

In the years that followed, he spent time in Indiana, Wisconsin and Arkansas. He eventually was appointed mayor of a small city in northwest Arkansas. He resigned in November 2007 when his true identity was revealed and his intriguing past was exposed in news accounts.

LaRose maintains a website where he offers a detailed version of what's happened to him over the years. In his account, he writes:

"Don does not remember ever having lived in Maine, New York, nor does he remember the last few years at the radio station in Syracuse prior to moving to Maine."

Attempts by WNBF News to interview LaRose in recent months have been unsuccessful.

In a November email, he wrote: "I retired in 2010, at the age of 72, after 20-years at a news/talk radio station; anchoring the morning news from 5 to 7 on AM and FM; then had a one-hour phone-in talk show later in the morning which was carried on three additional stations.  Before that I was News Director at a station for 7-years.  I actually started in radio in LaPorte, Indiana back in the 1960's.  I was Assistant Manager of a station in Madison, Wisconsin, before leaving in the late 1970's to rescue a small town station that was about to shut down.  We revived it by cutting way down on the music, and greatly increasing the local news, local activities, listener involvement, and being present at all local activities.

LaRose said he was forced to retire due to serious health issues. He said although he had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. a prayer meeting was held to support him and, in his words, "the tumor disappeared!"

LaRose has not responded to emails since he sent his November message.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.