One of ours is dead. Another missing. Someone is preying on us, raping us, killing us. Be smart. If nobody is going to protect us, we have to protect ourselves.

At first, it seemed nobody in authority was listening, local gay leaders said. They demanded to meet with officials investigating the death of Michael Wachholtz, the disappearance of Jason Galehouse and a series of sex assaults by possibly the same man.

The cooperation between authorities and the Tampa Bay area's gay community led to a break in the case, said Brian Winfield, spokesman for Tampa-based Equality Florida, a gay rights organization. Victims came forward, giving details.

``We were very concerned as far as the reaction initially,'' Winfield said Saturday. ``The willingness of the victims to come forward showed an enormous amount of courage. So many victims of sex assault don't come forward, and the gay scenarios are that much more difficult. They all described the attacker to a T.''

On Friday, prosecutors filed in federal court an affidavit accusing Steven Lorenzo, 46, of killing Galehouse and Wachholtz. The affidavit accuses Scott Schweickert, 39, of helping dispose of the bodies. The men have not been charged with the slayings, but both are in jail on other charges.

As the investigation unfolds, police are looking at the unsolved deaths of two gay men on Chicago's North Side in connection with the case in Tampa. Schweickert, who lived in Orlando at the time of the Tampa crimes, is from Peru, Ill.

``We're asking those questions, but there's no information at this time,'' Chicago police spokesman David Bayless said.

Tampa police are continuing to work on the Galehouse and Wachholtz cases, spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Saturday. She said investigators ``anticipate filing state charges as well.''

Also, investigators are reviewing cases of missing men to see whether there is any connection, Tampa police Maj. Jane Castor said.

`We Do Everything We Can'

She said there was a sentiment from Tampa's gay residents that law enforcement was not doing everything it could. Castor, the liaison for the gay community, said she was candid on how missing persons are investigated.

``Quite often they're very difficult investigations,'' she said. ``They could only go so far. You look at everything from financial transactions to exhausting all the leads.

``In missing person cases, there's a lot of emotions involved for those looking for loved ones. We do everything we can in any missing persons case.''

She said updates on the case aided understanding.

Galehouse went missing Dec. 20, 2003. Wachholtz's body was found in his car on January 6, 2004. Several men said they were sexually assaulted by a man matching Lorenzo's description.

Lorenzo was arrested Nov. 3, Schweickert on Thursday. Much of the affidavit was based on e-mail between the two about kidnapping and bondage, and Schweickert said he saw Lorenzo kill the two men, police said.

Posting fliers with Galehouse's picture and frequently e-mailing safety and dating tips were the gay group's ways of networking and protecting members from violence, Winfield said.

``Right now, people are shocked and in disbelief with the details,'' Winfield said. ``That's what I'm hearing and feeling. It has not really sunk in yet that this happened in our back yard.''

Proud Of Work Done

Brian Neal, who was having cocktails Saturday afternoon at City Side, a popular gay bar on Henderson Avenue, agreed that the case was shocking and ``weird.'' He said taking precautions with strangers holds true for everyone - advice he took even before the e-mail and fliers.

``Whether you are straight or gay, you are taking a risk when you are taking someone home,'' Neal said. ``You never know what's going to happen.''

Galehouse's friends, Tyler Hall, 29, and Eric Bunch, 32, said they were proud of the work done to protect others.

``We demanded answers, and we wanted to know,'' Hall said.

Bunch said the investigation started off ``very rocky,'' but as more leads were given to the police department from gay people, it evolved into a ``great working relationship.''

``They started listening that someone's targeting the gay community,'' he said.

Reporters Thomas W. Krause, Josh Poltilove and Anthony McCartney contributed to this report. Reporter Chris Echegaray can be reached at (813) 259-7920.