LI Family Spends Holidays Still Looking For Missing Son

WEST ISLIP, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- It's been six months since a Long Island man went missing after his family said he went on a blind date, and they haven't given up their search.

In that time, Michael Taus turned 26 years old, someone else got his old phone number, and police haven't developed any new leads on his whereabouts that they're sharing with his parents, Russel and Barbara.

"This is the worst Christmas I've ever had in my life, being without him," Barbara said.

The Taus family is again appealing to the public for help in the case of their missing son, 26-year-old Michael Taus, who disappeared on June 18.

"The police think it's like he disappeared off the face of the earth and no one can find him," Russel said.

Taus, of West Islip, and his dog Romeo vanished the Friday before Father's Day, with Taus saying he was going on a date with a woman he met online.

Taus' father, Russel, recounted a conversation he had with his son about the date before he went missing.

"He seemed happy," Russel said. "I told him to be careful because he met this girl on the computer."

However, Michael Taus never returned to his West Islip apartment after his Internet date.

Six days after he went missing, police discovered Michael Taus' black 2004 Volkswagen Jetta abandoned, with the engine running, 30 miles away from his home in Elmont, but it yielded few clues.

"There is nothing to indicate that the vehicle was part of a violent scene," Inspector Gerard McCarthy said. "He seems to have fallen off the face of the earth."

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-220-TIPS.