"I think he was abducted and murdered," Montour County District Attorney Robert W. Buehner Jr. said of his friend and colleague. "I'm tired of people sitting on critical information and doing nothing."

Gricar's successor, Michael Madeira, said leads have dwindled since April 15, 2005, when Gricar vanished after saying he was going for a drive. His car was found at an antiques market in Lewisburg and his laptop computer was found in the river nearby. No other trace has been found.

Yesterday, Buehner and former Clinton County District Attorney Ted McKnight publicly accused Madeira and Centre County investigators of ignoring certain leads in the case.

Buehner said he sent a letter to Madeira on June 3 asking him to resubmit the laptop's hard drive for testing, and to investigate other leads.

Asked why he decided to make his accusations public, Buehner said he had received no response to his letter.

"He may have the title of 'district attorney,' " Buehner said of Madeira. "But he's certainly no colleague of mine."

Madeira said he had been working with investigators on Buehner's points long before the letter was written. Leads in the case have grown cold, he said, "but our interest has not grown cold."

Madeira said Buehner has allowed his friendship with Gricar and "whatever he has against me" to cloud his professionalism.

"With all due respect, I am not required to report to him or even respond to him," Madeira said.