Search for missing former Kingsway Regional coach ends in heartbreak

🚨A multiday search for missing Kingsway coach Steve Ianotti ended in tragedy

🚨Helicopters, license plate readers and surveillance video were used in the search

🚨Commissioner: The outpouring of concern shows how beloved the longtime teacher was

LOGAN TOWNSHIP — An intense search for a missing beloved former teacher and football coach came to a tragic end on Wednesday.

Logan Township Police Chief Joseph V. Flatley posted the news on the department's Facebook page following a search for Steve Ianotti, the 72-year-old former head football coach at Kingsway Regional High School. The chief said the search included two helicopters and the use of Automated License Plate Reader data.

"It is with a heavy heart that we must advise that Mr Ianotti has been located, and tragically, he is deceased," Flatley wrote. "Out of respect for Coach I’s privacy and the privacy of his family, this will be the only update on this unfortunate case and we will not comment further. Thank you for your understanding."

CBS Philadelphia posted video of his Jeep 1997 Jeep Wrangler with the plate RUNT 61 being towed on a flatbed from a remote field in Lawrence Township (Cumberland).

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Missing person investigation details and Silver Alert explanation

Flatley in a statement Tuesday that Ianotti's black Jeep Wrangler was captured on home surveillance video leaving his Logan Township home at 12:45 p.m. on Friday. The last read of his license plate was at 12:53 p.m. at the intersection of Center Square Road and Heron Drive in Logan Township. The Delaware River Port Authority and the Delaware River and Bay Authority had no indication he used any of their respective crossings.

Ianotti's family allowed police into his home and determined he was not home. His cell phone was on the couch, which the family said was common practice for him. His bank account had no transactions since Christmas and he does not use credit or debit cards.

"Mr. I" was entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a Missing Person as has his vehicle’s registration. However, the circumstances of the investigation did not meet the criteria for issuing a Silver Alert, according to Flatley.

"Operating a motor vehicle with any form of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive
impairment is not automatically a Silver Alert," according to State police guidelines.

Prior to the discovery of the Jeep, Flatley said there was no indication of foul play.

Gloucester County Commissioner Christoper Konawel Jr. said the level of concern for Ianotti when word got out about him being missing and the intense search by police shows "how beloved he was here and how much people admired him."

The Republican said that despite he 5'3" height his spirit was seven feet tall. Despite admitting to being a "handful" as a teen he said Ianotti never stopped believing in him.

"Coach Iannotti was more than a teacher or coach to many of us — he was a mentor. He was the kind of person who would stop you in the hallway just to ask how you were doing, something that meant a lot to a 13-year-old kid. He listened, offered advice, and never gave up on you," Konawel said. "His words, 'do the right thing,' are something I still hear today. Years later, when I was elected to office, he saw me and told me how proud he was, reminding me that he always knew I had it in me.

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