By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
A car belonging to a missing Long Island man who was last seen in Bayside on Christmas Eve was found parked at a ferry station earlier this month, Nassau County police said.
Tung Tung “Tommy” Lam, 30, of Lynbrook, L.I., disappeared after leaving his aunt’s Bayside home about 10 p.m. Dec. 24, his brothers told a news conference in January.
On March 5, Southold, L.I. police found Lam’s silver 1997 Honda Civic at the Cross Sound Ferry station in Orient Point at the end of Long Island’s North Fork, said Detective Thomas Kelly of the Nassau County Missing Persons unit.
Police believe the car had been sitting at the station since 1:45 a.m. Christmas Day, when a surveillance camera recorded the car driving into the lot, said Detective Kenneth Smith, also of the Missing Persons unit.
The ferry operates between Orient Point and New London, Conn. Kelly said police in Connecticut had been notified, but so far Lam has not been found.
“Our family’s prediction is that maybe he committed suicide,” Lam’s brother, Louis, said last week.
Louis Lam said his brother, who was married with a one-month-old baby at the time of his disappearance, had suffered from depression and migraine headaches.
“He had tried all kinds of medications and nothing could alleviate his pain,” he said.
Lam’s family told a news conference with City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in January that the missing man, who worked in the family’s Chinese restaurant in Oceanside, L.I., had not been taking his depression medication.
Louis Lam said police had told him that Tommy’s car arrived at Orient Point about 1:45 a.m. on Christmas Day and that the last ferry had left at 9:45 p.m. Christmas Eve. There were no ferries scheduled for Christmas Day, he said.
“It kind of confirmed our presumptions that he probably just went right into the sea,” said Louis Lam.
Kelly said police may have noticed the Honda’s presence in the ferry parking lot for an extended period of time and run a computer check on the car, which would have revealed that its owner had been reported missing. It was unclear if the car was found damaged.
The detective added that police were still treating Tommy Lam as a missing persons case, and that foul play was not suspected.
“If someone knows where my brother is, I hope that they can come forward to contact us or come to the police,” said Louis Lam.
Nassau County’s Missing Persons Unit can be reached at (516) 573-5370.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 1-718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
