02/20/10: Eugene Losik, 25, Boston, MA

Eugene Losik

 Update 11/29/10: It is with deep sadness that I must report that a body found earlier this month in Boston Harbor was been identified as Gene Losik. The medical examiner was not able to determine a cause and manner of death.

Gene's body was recovered from Rowe's Wharf on Nov. 8.

According to the family's official Web site, a "Celebration of Life service will be held December 3, 2010, from 4-7 pm, at the Indian Ridge Country Club, 73 Lovejoy Road, Andover, MA." A virtual memorial has also been created for Gene.

I will continue updating you with more information, if it becomes known, but please keep Gene and his loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.

Gene's Story
Eugene "Gene" Losik, 25, of Lawrence, was last seen in the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 20 near the Marriot Long Wharf at 296 State St. in Boston. At 2:24 a.m., Losik was spotted on camera stepping out through the back door of the hotel. He has not been seen since.

Gene Losik had gone to the city to celebrate a friend's birthday at Sissy K's Bar in Faneuil Hall. They spent the evening drinking and dancing. At around midnight, Losik, his girlfriend of four years, Caitlin McGovern, and some friends went back to the Marriot Long Wharf where they were staying. McGovern turned in for the night, while Losik decided to stay up with friends. McGovern said that Losik did not seem overly intoxicated when she went to bed at midnight. Keilty, who saw him two hours later, agreed. He reported that he was in quite alert, speaking clearly, and in good spirits. "There was nothing out of the ordinary. If he had been too intoxicated I wouldn't have left him."

One friend, Rick Keilty, told police that the two men went for a walk. The family's website indicates that Losik and Keilty were seen on surveillance cameras returning to the hotel at about 1:15 a.m. They then played cards in another friend's room. It has been reported that Losik had his wallet, cell phone and keys. At about 2:10 a.m., Keilty left to take a cab home.

At 2:24 a.m., Losik was seen on camera leaving the hotel through the back entrance without his coat or hat. See map. Friends believe he may have been stepping outside for a cigarette when he wandered off.  "The back entrance puts you into Christopher Columbus Park," McGovern said, "near Tia's restaurant. But there are tons of people going in and out of the hotel until 4 a.m. If something had happened there, someone would have seen him."

McGovern said that her boyfriend's cell phone had run out of charge and he only had about $20 in his wallet. He was also not familiar with the area.

Losik's girlfriend noticed he had not returned when she woke up at 6 a.m. Saturday and filed a missing persons report at about 11:30 a.m. Phone calls to his cellphone have gone unanswered, she told police. She is hoping that he simply got locked out of the hotel or maybe took the train back to Lawrence. A friend is staying in the couple's apartment in case Losik shows up."I don't know what happened," said a teary and emotional McGovern in an interview with The Eagle-Tribune last night. She said she sort of hopes he is in an area hospital, perhaps suffering from memory loss or lying unconscious in a hospital bed, where staff may not know his identity.  

About Gene Losik
Losik is described as "extremely bright, very rational and very resourceful" and "had no enemies at all." He is a graduate of UMass-Amherst works as an electrical engineer at Raytheon in Andover and was up for a promotion. He is a 2003 graduate of North Andover High School. He lives with Catlin McGovern, his girlfriend of four years, in the Washington Mills apartment complex on Canal Street in Lawrence. Losik had told his father he planned to marry McGovern in the next year.

The Search for Gene Losik

While the police are treating it as a missing persons' case, a Boston police dive team initially searched the waters around the hotel. They found no indication he might be there.

A large scale search was conducted on March 2 that included over 50 divers, search boats, sonar equipment, underwater cameras, and helicopters. The search turned up no trace of Gene or any evidence that he was ever in the water.
On March 4, it was reported to the media that Losik's sent was found near the water. According to the dog handler, "Clothing belonging to Gene were given to the handler. Scent pads were made from gauze pads placed inside of Gene's clothing, which later were used as Gene's scent articles for my K9. Later, at the door where Gene exited the hotel, the K9 was given Gene's scent article. The K9 immediately took trail and went from the back door of the hotel, onto the large docks and to one small dock, where the K9 indicated that the person had gone into the water. After this LIVE SCENT trail ended, the K9 was changed to work 'cadaver' and an alert was given right there, as well as multiple places leading outward towards the bay. This entire process was repeated multiple times (7 times), with the exact same results, even when the K9 worked the entire trailing and cadaver process(es) off lead."

The family has created a website, http://www.findgenelosik.com/ which will be posting updates on the search effort and had offered a $12,000 reward in his disappearance.


Quick Facts
Name/age: Eugene Losik, 25
Physical description: white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall with a muscular build, close-shaved blond hair, and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt, blue jeans, and black dress shoes. Very early reports also mentioned that he was wearing a black mid-length jacket, but this seems to have been ruled out by surveillance tapes and witness statements.
Residence: Washington Mills apartment complex, Canal Street in Lawrence, MA.
Last seen: 2/20/10, Marriot Long Wharf at 296 State St. in Boston at 2:24 a.m.
Recovered: 11/8/10, Boston Harbor near Rowe's Wharf
Investigating Agency: 1-617-343-4248
Family Web site: http://www.findgenelosik.com/
Originally posted 02/20/10. Updated 11/29/10.