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| John Luke Edwards |
By Wednesday, Westminster police had begun searching the several nearby lakes and ponds in the area around the hotel located at 10600 Westminster Blvd. Police noted that John Edwards's truck was still in the parking lot of the hotel, and his belongings were still in the hotel. Coworkers noted that Edwards had been intoxicated when he left the party about 3 a.m.
On Monday, December 17, his body was found below the surface of the man-made pond near the Westin Hotel about 4:30 p.m. Monday, police said. 7NEWS photojournalist Eric Goody reported that divers found the body in an area thick with 4-foot-deep reeds and partially covered by ice.
According to a report by the Denver Post, Police had initially focused on the pond, along with another in the area, but the search was hindered by ice. Warmer temperatures allowed the Westminster Fire Department's dive team to look again at City Park Pond, where Edwards was then discovered. The pond was approximately one-quarter of a mile from the hotel.
7NEWS reported that the week before Edwards was found, "divers and fire crews in sonar-equipped boats spent several days searching the pond, which is more than 20-feet deep in some places...officials told the family they were 90 percent sure Edwards' body wasn't in the pond. [Edwards's] mother urged them to keep searching until they were "100 percent" certain."
7NEWS also reported that, "police said they talked with nearly 60 people who attended the holiday party as well as people who were in and around the Westin on night of Dec. 8. Police also reviewed 14 hours of video from surveillance cameras around the hotel."
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office found no indication of foul play. The final cause of death is pending further lab results, Westminster police said on December 18.
Case Details
Name/age: John Luke Edwards, 36
Last seen: 12/9/12, Westin Hotel near hwy. 36, Westminster, Colorado
Recovered: 12/17/12, Westin Hotel pond
Physical Description: 6'1", 190 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes
Sources
Gathright, Alan. (2012, December 18). Authorities say body found in Westminster pond is missing Arvada man, Luke Edwards. ABC7.com. Retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/westminster/authorities-say-a-body-found-in-westminster-pond-is-missing-arvada-man-luke-edwards
Ingold, John. (2012, December 18). Body in Westminster pond confirmed as misisng man. The Denver Post. Retrieved Fabruary 20, 2012 from http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22217650/body-westminster-pond-confirmed-missing-man
Staff Writer. (2012), December 11). Westminster Man Goes Missing After Office Party. CBS. Retrieved February 20, 2013 from http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/12/11/westminster-man-goes-missing-after-office-party/.
thought you might want to see this.
ReplyDeleteFormer federal drug enforcement agent Jerry Snyder is the founder of a non-for-profit victim-search group called "Find Me" composed of active and retired law enforcement officials and consultants.
Together they've studied more than 200 of these drowning cases across the country.
"It was time after time, Caucasian male, 18 to 26 years old, good looking, athletic, very intelligent," Snyder said. "Every one of these kids were ending up in a river, pond, lake or stream and that just really caught our attention."
There have been 20 known cases in Illinois, including Maddula and Brian Welzein.
"Look at all the names here and we think we've only scratched the surface that's what's really scary to me," Snyder said.
Snyder is disappointed in the lack of interest by local police.
"They are surmising the kid drown because he was drunk so there is no investigation," he said.
"Even though 50-percent of these cases are likely accidents or suicides we truly believe we have at least 50-percent being homicides," Snyder said. "When we are talking numbers, there are 194 bodies, if half of those are homicides we have a problem here."
Snyder gathered grieving family members on the East Coast in November 2012.
"They all believe that their sons were murdered," Snyder said.
For the first time, they met with federal agents who have agreed to look into the cases.
"The reason that is significant is because federal authorities can go anywhere jurisdictionally in the country," Snyder said.
- See more at: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=9006940#sthash.MpLJde0e.dpuf
- See more at: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=9006940#sthash.MpLJde0e.dpuf