Investigators are searching for a killer who shot a 65-year-old Elizabethtown man to death outside his home late Wednesday.

Raymond Diener, of 1016 W. Ridge Road, was shot multiple times in front of his West Donegal Township home about 10:45 p.m., investigators said.

He died shortly after his wife, Barbara, found him on the front steps of their home and called police.

Investigators ruled the death a homicide after an autopsy Thursday morning.

As of late Thursday, police said they had made no arrests and don't have any suspects.

Investigators haven't said whether the homicide appears to be a random act or if the shooter knew Diener.

Diener, a former Armstrong World Industries executive, owned a water-purification business, Elizabethtown Crystal Pure Water. The business operates from stores in the 1600 block of South Market Street in Elizabethtown and on East Main Street in Mount Joy.

Diener was well known inside and outside Lancaster County.

The Diener family released a statement Thursday night. Part of it read:

"Ray had a heart as big as the canyons he loved to hike. He was a man as tall as the mountains he loved to ski. Yet, he could always find the promise and beauty in even the smallest of events and objects.

"He could truly make every person know they were special."

Diener's influences went beyond immediate family.

Roger Snyder, chairman of West Donegal Township supervisors, said he was "very surprised" to hear of Diener's slaying.

The Dieners "are very nice people," Snyder said Thursday night. "You could never have expected someone would do this."

Snyder said he couldn't recall a recent violent crime in West Donegal.

"It's not normal for this area," he said.

Investigators said "suspicious activity" that occurred near Diener's Elizabethtown store Wednesday night may be related to the killing but didn't elaborate on what the activity was.

Lancaster County District Attorney Donald Totaro said Diener may have stopped by the Elizabethtown store on his way home from a softball game.

When asked whether the shooter also was at Diener's business prior to the murder, Totaro said "that's a possibility."

Diener returned home just after 10 p.m., according to neighbors. Neighbors said he walked inside the house and told his wife he was home.

The events that occurred outside the Diener home immediately before the shots were fired were still unclear late Thursday.

After Mrs. Diener's 911 call at 10:45 p.m., police arrived at the home and found Mr. Diener near the front steps. He was pronounced dead by Lancaster County Deputy Coroner Miles Newman about 11 p.m., investigators said.

Snyder, who lives on the same road as the Dieners, said the death has shocked his neighbors.

"Usually the community pulls together after (tragedies) like this," he said. "It's a big community, but in some ways it's a small community."

Northwest Regional police are asking anyone who may have been near the Diener home or his business Wednesday night to contact them at 367-8481.

Diener gained attention for his volunteer work around the globe.

In 2002, he helped start Messiah College's Water for the World project in its School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business.

Diener traveled to Guatemala in 2003 and Honduras in 2006 to help poor residents there convert contaminated water to drinking water.

He had planned to go back to Honduras this year.

Neighbors said Diener also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and served on the West Donegal Township sewer/water authority.

In the 1960s, he was a standout pitcher at Elizabethtown College, according to newspaper archives.

More than 40 years after graduating from E-town College, Diener still holds the school record there for career strikeouts (264).

According to newspaper records, Diener, a Lebanon County native, signed a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds after he graduated college.

The Dieners have two adult daughters, a son and five grandchildren.

The family's statement read:

"Because of Ray, his family is together and just as strong without his physical presence. We know completely that we are truly blessed to know and love him still, and that we are loved by him. …

"It is with real sadness that Elizabethtown will never be the same."

E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com