What really happened to Henry T. McCabe?
Part one of an ongoing independent investigation
Henry McCabe, a prominent Liberian man from Moundsview, Minnesota, went missing in the early morning hours of September 7, 2015 after a night of having fun with people he called friends.
Henry McCabe left the club Povlitzki’s On 65 early Monday morning before the club closed with William “Papaus” Kennedy, an acquaintance who Henry McCabe hung out with all day. Later that night they rode to the club together, and according to Kennedy he dropped off McCabe in Fridley at the Super America gas station on 73rd Avenue.
Later that morning, Kareen McCabe, Henry’s wife, who has consistently stated that she was in California on September 7, 2015, the morning Henry McCabe went missing, notified Henry’s family members that in the early morning hours of September 7, at approximately 2:23 am, Henry McCabe’s phone pocket dialed her, and Henry McCabe was heard screaming in distress and stated that someone shot him. The phone hung up and that’s the last time anyone has heard his voice.
During this bizarre phone call, Kareen McCabe called Tim Borbor, Henry’s biological brother. The voicemail picked up and the last two minutes of the call was recorded. Borbor hadn’t checked his voicemail until the next day and after listening to what he describes as “his brother crying,” Borbor knew that something was very wrong, so he filed a missing person report with the Moundsview Police Department in the city where Henry McCabe lived.
Henry McCabe was an auditor for the Minnesota Department of Revenue and did not call or show up for work for a job he loved. On September 8, 2015, Minnesota Community Policing Services were called in to meet with Kareen McCabe and other family members to give an assessment and recommendation based on the current circumstances.
During the family interview conducted by Minnesota Community Policing officials, we learned the other friends that Henry McCabe was with at the club that night also didn’t have any knowledge of his whereabouts. However, one friend had his wallet and Kennedy had his keys. When Henry McCabe was dropped that night he had no identification and no keys to get into his house.
Minnesota Community Policing Services came to the determination that the disappearance of McCabe was highly suspicious and that immediate search and rescue efforts should be initiated as soon as possible. As the days went on, there was no activity in Henry McCabe’s bank account, he never contacted his employer, family or friends, and his phone was never turned back on after it disconnected the early morning of September 7, 2015. It would appear that Henry McCabe vanished without a trace.
Minnesota Community Policing Services supervised and directed search and rescue efforts for three months. During the search and rescue investigation we learned that the location that Kennedy gave the police was not accurate. Electronic evidence confirmed the location was Holiday Gas Station and not Super America.
The evening of November 2, 2015, I was dispatched to Rush Lake in New Brighton to observe the recovery of a body that had been there for some time. The next day we were notified that the body recovered was in fact Henry McCabe.
In this case there remains more questions than answers, inconsistent statements, a bizarre audio tape, questionable friends, encrypted numbers, false information to police and obstruction of the active independent investigation. If Henry McCabe’s death was an accident like some may suggest, why are some of the people closest to him withholding and manipulating pertinent information, and why has law enforcement suspended their investigation?
Minnesota Community Policing Services is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the death of Henry T. McCabe. Please call 651-485-9211. All communications are confidential and you will remain anonymous.
David A. Singleton is chief executive officer of Minnesota Community Policing Services. He welcomes readers’ responses to communitypolicingservices@gmail.com.
Related content:
Mounds View man goes missingThe search for missing man shifts to New Brighton
Liberians demand answers in McCabe death
Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.