The body of Patrick (Patsy) Ezzo has never been found since his new two-door Pontiac catapulted over the low wall in Wilmington Notch, rolled over high in the air and landed on its roof in the icy stream. The accident happened on Sunday, March 8, 1976.

As former colleagues here at The Enterprise, photographer/reporter Bill McLaughlin and I would go to car crashes and other “breaking news” stories long after we gave up our typewriters and had moved on. So, we found ourselves walking the Notch roadway that Sunday with the New York State Troopers shortly after the crash, with everyone trying to spot Mr. Ezzo’s body. It was never determined, even following a long search, whether his body might be lodged under a rock or if that roaring stream carried his body all the way to Lake Champlain.

The description of the car going up the ice ramp and over the wall, was reported by the Troopers trying to reconstruct what happened from witnesses. Witnesses said that Mr. Ezzo “apparently lost control of the car before it went over the wall.” Friends of Mr. Ezzo believed that he may have suffered a heart attack before the crash.

Here are brief excerpts from the Enterprise story three days after the crash:

“A grader, a front-end loader, a truck with a plow and another truck were working in the Wilmington Notch Wednesday morning, clearing an ice ramp away from the stone wall that separates Route 86 from the West Branch of the AuSable River, 20 feet below.

“The driver of the car, whose body has not been found as of late Wednesday, was 82-year-old Patsy Ezzo of Saranac Lake.

“State Police in Ray Brook said Mr. Ezzo was headed toward Wilmington when the accident happened. Witness told State Police that the car landed on its top in the river. Emergency personnel were not sure whether Mr. Ezzo’s body was in the car until they winched it toward the far bank and inspected the interior. State police said Wednesday that the search for the body was continuing.”

A handsome couple

and the “last man” club

Mr. and Mrs. Ezzo were a handsome couple. They would walk into St. Bernard’s church for Mass on Sunday impeccably dressed. At the time I knew them, both had white hair and Patsy’s hair was like his wife’s, thick and wavy and they always drove a new Pontiac or Buick. The couple had a home at 31 Duprey St.

Mr. Ezzo had belonged to a “Last Man” Club of Veterans founded in Saranac Lake which at one time had a membership of 500. They had their last meeting in August, 1968 and Mr. Ezzo was one of the surviving members with Ed Brill, Dr. Henry Leetch, Tony Durell, Bill Rankin, Art Niederbuhl and Pat Collins.

The club was created in 1919 by veterans who developed tuberculosis during “war service”. Dr. Edward N. Packard was assigned Medical Examiner by the Public Health Service.

Mr. Ezzo well known

in the region

Much like the dresses worn by the stunning stars we watch on the red carpet, Mr. Ezzo had no visible means of support. He was well-known in the area and it was widely surmised in Saranac Lake that he was a book maker. I don’t think he ever made the New York Times best seller list or that anyone at Random House ever heard of him.

I never believed at that time, nor did my acquaintances, that being a bookie was a bad thing. There were no betting parlors or lottery tickets so when one referred to a “bookie” it had a sort of mysterious, adventurous ring to it.

It was rumored that on that fateful Sunday, Mr. Ezzo was headed for a card game in Plattsburgh and bookies and gamblers supposedly carried a lot of dough with them. Card games were sort of a “legitimate” way to gamble. There were many high stakes games going on around this region all the time.

One has to understand black humor to understand Bill McLaughlin black humor as described in the dictionary – “in literature and drama, combining the morbid with humor and farce to give a disturbing effect and convey the absurdity and cruelty of life”.

So,as we were patrolling along the wall looking for Mr. Ezzo’s body, McLaughlin turns to me and says, “I know you Riley; if we find his body don’t you start yelling to the State Police until I get his wallet.”