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category tags aliases summary location relations created updated
Law Enforcement & Legal
Person
Police
Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaPoliceDepartment
OlneyHouseInvestigation
Frank Vanore
Frank Vanore Jr.
Frank J. Vanore
Frank J. Vanore Jr.
Frank J Vanore Jr.
Deputy Commissioner Vanore
Philadelphia police deputy commissioner who joined the department in 1990 and gave the department's public briefings on the 2026 Olney House Investigation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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employed_by Philadelphia Police Department 1990 patrol officer, later deputy commissioner of investigations and interim 1st deputy commissioner 1
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appointed Jim Kenney true 2023-09-22 interim 1st deputy commissioner 1
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reported_to John M. Stanford Jr. 2023-09-22 interim commissioner, while Vanore was interim 1st deputy commissioner 1
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investigated Olney House Investigation 2026-06-27 8
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investigated R.C. Horsch 2026-06 9
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investigated Eugene Horsch 2026-06 9
2026-09-23 2026-10-15

Frank J. Vanore Jr. is a deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, which he joined in 1990, and the official who has given the department's public briefings on the Olney House Investigation into women connected to R.C. Horsch and Eugene Horsch.1

Career

Vanore began as a patrol officer in the 1st Police District. He later served in the Citywide Vice Enforcement Unit, as a detective in the East Detective Division, as a sergeant in the South Detective Division and the Homicide Division, as a lieutenant in the 25th Police District, and in the Detective Bureau and the Narcotics Intelligence Unit.2

In August 2007 the police commissioner appointed him to command the department's Public Affairs Office as public information officer.2 In May 2008 the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on two officers charged in an aggravated assault case arising from an August 26 beating. The paper quoted "Lt. Frank Vanore of the department's public-affairs unit," who declined to discuss the case: "The case is in court and we're not going to comment any further on it until it goes to court."3

He was promoted to captain and given command of the 25th Police District in October 2010, to staff inspector of Standards and Accountability in January 2014, and to inspector, commanding the Training and Education Services Division, in March 2016.2 In March 2017 he was promoted to chief inspector and assigned to Regional Operations Command South, which then covered three police divisions and ten patrol districts. In December 2018 he was assigned to the Detective Bureau as chief of detectives, commanding all of its investigative units and divisions.2

He holds an associate degree in criminal justice from the Community College of Philadelphia, a bachelor's degree in organizational management from Eastern University (2007), and a master's degree in public safety management from Saint Joseph's University (2009). He is a 2002 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and a 2012 graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police.2

In February 2023, after Nordo's December 2022 sentence of 24 and a half to 49 years in prison, Deputy Commissioner Vanore told the Inquirer that detectives now receive greater supervision. The reporters wrote that he could not point to a single reform made specifically in response to Nordo's wrongdoing and that he said the department had not undertaken any review of Nordo's cases.4

On September 22, 2023, Mayor Jim Kenney named John M. Stanford Jr. interim police commissioner and Vanore interim 1st deputy commissioner in the same announcement. The city's release said Vanore had previously served as deputy commissioner of investigations, overseeing the department's investigative units.1

In 2024 he was Deputy Commissioner of Investigations under Kevin Bethel, the commissioner.5

On September 17, 2026, Vanore told reporters that a backpack found in the council caucus chamber at Philadelphia City Hall had prompted an evacuation, that investigators found nothing dangerous in it, and that no one faced charges.6 On October 2, 2026, he briefed reporters on a fatal shooting of a man by two officers on Frankford Avenue in Mayfair, saying the man had been reported trying to break into houses, that both officers fired during a physical confrontation, that a knife was recovered, and that body camera footage existed.7

The Olney House

On June 27, 2026, at the search of the house on Chew Avenue, Vanore said investigators had found chemicals in the basement that raised safety concerns. Of a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines, whose purpose police had not determined, he said: "We just don't know what he was doing. He's producing something. If he's making something, if he's irrigating something, we don't know." Searching near a sump pump, he said: "There's a sump pump that looks like a hole in the ground, but there's no bodies. I don't have any bodies."8

At a news conference on September 16, 2026, with Wayne Jacobs and Bethel, Vanore said investigators had reviewed about 30 percent of the recovered material and had identified 58 people in it. "The objective here is thoroughness, not simply speed," he said. The Inquirer reported that of the 58, five women appeared to be dead; ABC News quoted police as saying five women "appear to be deceased" in the photographs and videos.91011 WHYY reported that Vanore said four of the people identified "appear to be lifeless," that 10 others had later died of overdoses at different locations in Philadelphia, and that investigators had interviewed 16 people seen in the videos, whom he said were not very cooperative. He said police were scheduling interviews with 25 people known to be alive.9

Vanore said some of the videos were made by R.C. Horsch, the late father of Eugene Horsch.9 At the same briefing he said: "I've got to caution you and emphasize we did never recover a body here," adding, "Mr. Horsch is deceased at this time, and we still need to find evidence to corroborate what appears to have occurred in this video."9

The Inquirer reported that investigators had recovered photos showing a 25-year-old woman unconscious, with visible injuries, inside the Chew Avenue home, and that Vanore declined to identify her at her family's request.10 Of the material, Vanore said: "Some of this is playacting, and some of it we believe could be real," adding, "But we're not there yet."10 Of two women shown in the images who were missing, he said: "Both women remain missing and have not been seen," and that "to date, neither their bodies nor any DNA evidence have been recovered."12

The video later identified as showing Nicole Fusaro was described at the same briefing. The Inquirer reported that Vanore said Horsch used pliers to put a zip tie around the woman's neck until she fell unconscious.13 A cousin of Fusaro criticized police the same day for describing the video publicly before the family was told.13

On the missing-person reports, Vanore said: "There was some very extensive investigation that R.C. Horsch was interviewed." He said that when families reported the women missing, "they were talked to. It was just, nothing was apparent at that point that anything was wrong other than they were missing and they were last seen with him."14

Court records

An employment action (No. 2:22-cv-02227, Eastern District of Pennsylvania) was filed June 6, 2022, by a retired police officer against the City of Philadelphia alleging age discrimination and retaliation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. On July 26, 2023, Judge Chad F. Kenney granted the City's motion for summary judgment and ordered the accompanying memorandum sealed for seven days pending any request to preclude public access.15 On August 2, 2023, the City filed a memorandum requesting redaction of the decision; the docket describes an attachment to the filing as the affidavit of Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.16 The same day the court granted the request, kept the unredacted memorandum under seal, issued a redacted version for public viewing, and closed the case.17

Footnotes

  1. Office of the Mayor, City of Philadelphia, "Mayor Jim Kenney Appoints John M. Stanford, Jr. as Interim Police Commissioner for the Philadelphia Police Department & Frank Vanore as Interim 1st Deputy Commissioner," September 22, 2023. https://www.phila.gov/2023-09-22-mayor-jim-kenney-appoints-john-m-stanford-jr-as-interim-police-commissioner-for-the-philadelphia-police-department-frank-vanore-as-interim-1st-deputy-commissioner/ ↩︎

  2. Philadelphia Police Department, "Frank J Vanore Jr." leadership biography, Deputy Commissioner, captured by the Internet Archive on March 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230309194638/https://www.phillypolice.com/about/leadership/deputy-commissioner ↩︎

  3. Robert Moran, "Olney man wants apology from police," The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 30, 2008. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/local/20080530_Olney_man_wants_apology_from_police.html ↩︎

  4. Chris Palmer and Samantha Melamed, "Four takeaways from the 'Predator in Blue' investigation into homicide detective Philip Nordo," The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 2023. https://inquirer.com/news/philip-nordo-philly-police-detective-trial-sexual-assault-cases-20230227.html ↩︎

  5. Philadelphia Police Department, "Frank Vanore - Deputy Commissioner of Investigations," leadership page captured by the Internet Archive on June 24, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240624044308/https://www.phillypolice.com/leadership/frank-vanore ↩︎

  6. "Suspicious package prompts evacuation at Philadelphia City Hall, no device found, police say," CBS Philadelphia, updated September 17, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/evacuation-philadelphia-city-hall/ ↩︎

  7. "Man fatally shot by Philly police after reported break-in attempt in Mayfair," FOX 29 Philadelphia, October 2, 2026. https://www.fox29.com/news/deadly-officer-involved-shooting-mayfair-under-investigation-police ↩︎

  8. Amanda Pitts, "Missing woman's family says she was last seen at Olney home where police found chemicals, weapons," 6abc Action News, June 27, 2026. https://6abc.com/post/missing-womans-family-says-she-was-last-seen-philadelphia-home-where-police-found-chemicals-weapons/19392353/ ↩︎

  9. Cory Sharber, "Police, FBI provide updates on Horsch missing women case," WHYY, September 16, 2026. https://whyy.org/articles/olney-home-investigation-abuse/ ↩︎

  10. Ellie Rushing, Max Marin, and Ryan W. Briggs, "Police find more photos of women who appear dead in pornographer R.C. Horsch's home, bringing the number of missing to 7," The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/raymond-horsch-philadelphia-missing-women-dead-20260916.html ↩︎

  11. "5 women 'appear to be deceased' in images recovered from Philadelphia home: Police," ABC News, September 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/police-reveal-new-details-case-missing-women-linked/story?id=136500368 ↩︎

  12. "Philadelphia home linked to 7 missing women, late resident's potential 'serial killer' memoir investigated," Fox News, September 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/philadelphia-home-search-uncovers-possible-human-ashes-images-7-missing-women-police.print ↩︎

  13. Barbara Laker and Ellie Rushing, "Cousin of a Raymond Horsch victim criticizes police for sharing graphic details at news conference before telling family," The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 17, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/nicole-fusaro-family-complaint-horsch-olney-house-investigation-20260917.html ↩︎

  14. Joe Holden and Nate Sylves, "Olney 'house of horrors' investigation sparks questions over Philadelphia police missing persons handling," CBS Philadelphia, September 17, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/rc-horsch-amy-mchale-olney-house-of-horrors-philadelphia/ ↩︎

  15. Order (Document 48), No. 2:22-cv-02227-CFK (E.D. Pa. July 26, 2023). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227/pdf/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227-0.pdf ↩︎

  16. Docket entry 49, CourtListener docket 63364906, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, entry filed August 2, 2023. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63364906/49/mccrorey-v-philadelphia-police-department/ ↩︎

  17. Order (Document 50) and redacted Memorandum (Document 51), No. 2:22-cv-02227-CFK (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2023). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227/pdf/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227-1.pdf and https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227/pdf/USCOURTS-paed-2_22-cv-02227-2.pdf ↩︎