Butler County attorney still missing after trip to Tennessee park

The 42-year-old arrived at Cummins Falls State Park at about 1:30 p.m., parked in the visitors’ lot and hiked in to see one of his favorite outdoor sights — a frozen waterfall. Despite searches that are ongoing by rangers, according to his brother Carl, there has been no sign of Qucsai.

“The rangers are certain it wasn’t suicide,” Carl Qucsai said. “He made a big deposit the day of in the bank for his trip. This was just a stop off.”

In the car were Qucsai’s wallet, identification and credit cards.

“The only thing he had on him was a car key, a cellphone and a hiking bag. He was an avid hiker and loved taking pictures of waterfalls,” Qucsai said.

Carl Qucsai said he and their father talked to Robert about 4:30 p.m. the day he went missing.

“He was already in the middle of the park. He had just sent us a beautiful picture before we talked to him. He was upbeat,” Carl said.

Rangers called about 6:30 p.m. because they had closed the park and they had found Qucsai’s car.

“We didn’t think anything at the time, we had just talked to him two hours prior. We told them he’s probably wandering the woods, doing his thing. I told them he’ll be back soon and that was it, Carl said.

Carl traveled to the park in Blackburn Fork State Scenic River near Cookeville, Tennessee, to pick up his brother’s car and belongings, and said he hiked the rugged trail to the 75-foot waterfall

“There are crevices in a lot of the sheer rock. I think he had made it to the bottom of the waterfall and he tried to get to the top of the waterfall to get another picture and fell into a crevice or into the waterfall,” Qucsai said.

But he said the waterfall has been searched numerous times. Because of the time of the year, there were only seven or eight visitors to the park that day. Qucsai said it is unlike his brother to leave with someone he might have met hiking. Rangers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found no evidence of foul play.

Qucsai is a graduate of Fairfield High School and lives in Trenton. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2004 and worked as a public defender in Butler County Common Pleas and Juvenile Courts.

Authorities manned an exhaustive search for three days in February looking for Qucsai using technology, dogs and horses, but found nothing.

“I truly believe he is still there in the park,” Carl said. “At this point we just want some kind of closure.”

On Wednesday, Kim Schofinski, deputy communications director for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said there were no updates.

“We do not have any new information. We are continuing to work with TBI to follow up on any leads that may come in,” she said.

Qucsai, 5 feet, 10 inches and 160 pounds, was last known to be wearing dark pants and a gray hoodie, according to a missing persons alert.

Anyone with tips or who would like to spread the word about Quscai’s case can send info to helpfindbq@gmail.com.