Josh Guimond: missing ten years

Josh Guimond
Missing since 11/9/02

A memorial service was held today at Maple Lake Holy Cross Lutheran Church for missing college student Josh Guimond.

Ten years ago, Josh disappeared from the St. John's University campus in Collegeville, Minn. He was last seen at small card party around midnight on November 9, 2002. When he stepped out, his friends assumed he walked back to his dorm room. It was a three minute walk, but he never made it home. It is unlikely that Josh disappeared on his own. 

Josh's grandpa, Bob, has made it his mission to find out what happened to his grandson. His grandpa wrote on a Web site dedicated to Josh, "We still know nothing about his whereabouts. We need some help with this, but who do you ask? Who is willing to help?"

If you know anything about Josh's disappearance, call 1-800-CRIME TV1-800-274-6388.

You can read more about Josh's disappearance at:
http://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com/2006/11/110902-josh-guimond-collegeville-mn.htm

Having a Better (and Safer) Night on the Town

I am frequently e-mailed by parents wanting to know how to prepare their teenagers who are going off to college. What are the biggest safety lessons I've learned from doing this blog?

While I don't pretend to have all the answers, I have put together a fact sheet for young adults that may help parents talk to their young adult children. It's called Having a Better (and Safer) Night on the Town.

The safety tips in this fact sheet are based on many of the cases found on this site and have been reviewed by a few parents of the missing.

It can be found in the Footprints Reading Room (click on Resources on the navigation bar to get there). Here is the link if you'd like to share it.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0ZgqCelsgiXVlo2ZGJDaGNub2M

A Missing Person's Case with a Happy Ending

Scotty Meyer - FOUND!

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about a missing person case that recently happened here in Minnesota. While I usually try not to editorialize, I think this case is helpful in showing how various resources can band together effectively as a team and, in a coordinated effort, help find a missing person.

At about 1 p.m. on July 3, I happened to catch a Facebook message from a former junior high school classmate now living in Prescott, Wis. She has an autistic son and is very close to the Meyer family, also of Prescott, who have an autistic son, Scotty. Scotty was missing.

Scotty's mother had been talking to an air conditioner repairman around noon when he slipped outside, possibly with his two older autistic brothers, and then wandered off. His mother had been looking for him without any luck and the Pierce County sheriff's office had been called in. The messages on Facebook urged people to be on the look out for him. Then, within the hour, a search command center had been mobilized.

The situation was particulary urgent. This summer's weather has been unseasonably hot with record high temperatures. That day was particularly brutal--nearing one hundred degrees with high humidity and a high UV index. Adding to the sense of urgency was the fact that Scotty was non-verbal and only five years old. The area where he disappeared was only 200 yards from railroad tracks and the Mississippi River, both attractive points of interest for a child.

So I was simply heartsick to learn at 3 p.m. that Scotty still hadn't been found. The heat and sun were so intense; I worried that this little boy had been outside far too long without water or that he may have tried to go swimming in the river. Both sounded grim.

It lifted my spirits to hear that hundreds of volunteers, many from my home town, had been turning out to help the sheriff's office search. It was the day before a holiday with record heat and people only wanted to help. Many brought in bottled water, snacks and tents for the searchers. Others showed up on horseback or with dogs and ATVs. They stumbled down hills and fought through wooded areas in the heat to help find this little boy.

By about 6 p.m., I was finally available to help search, so I checked Facebook for another update. I learned that volunteers were being turned away. A professional that I know in search and rescue said this sometimes happens when the number of searchers becomes unmanageable. It made sense. The sheriff had also decided to bring in additional resources, such as heat-seeking helicopters, for the night search. I was relieved that the search hadn't yet been called off. But by the time night fell, I was painfully aware that there was a scared little boy outside in the dark not knowing how to find his way home. And parents who didn't know where their son was. It effected me deeply; I couldn't sleep.


My hopes were dashed the following day to learn that he still hadn't been found during the night. How could the helicopters not find him?

As I ate breakfast, I worried that because it was now the Fourth of July, few volunteers would turn out to search for day two. An even hotter day was also expected. But once again, the kindness of humanity surprised me. I turned on the morning news to learn that hundreds of people had turned out at Prescott High School, ready to board buses to go to the search area. According to the Pioneer Press, "The volunteers were to be sent out in shifts, staying cool in the school's air-conditioned basement on breaks. A local grocer donated water. Tubs of Gatorade sat on tables and fans blasted the hallways."

One of the volunteers who came back for a second day was Jason Moser, a construction worker and father of two from Ellsworth, Wis., along with his golden retriever, Autumn. He had arrived that morning about 6 a.m., and after searching for two hours, took Autumn down to the river to cool off. Afterward, the pair headed back into the woods. After 5 or 10 minutes, the dog headed off in one direction and Moser followed her. He then heard a small, muffled whimper coming from under a tree on a steep hill. It was Scotty. As Moser kneeled down, Scotty grabbed his water bottle and took a big drink. He was dehydrated, sunburned, and had many mosquito bites and deer ticks, but he was healthy and in good condition.

"I told him, 'Let's get you back to your parents.' He didn't want to move or go anywhere," Moser told the Pioneer Press. "You could tell he was a little scared, a little weak."

Moser called 911 and shouted for help, then texted his wife, Melissa, with the good news.

I'm posting this story because, two weeks later, I am still touched by the number of heroes who showed up to make a difference to one missing person. I am pleased to hear about such a large and complicated search being coordinated so well. And I'm glad to hear of a happy ending.



Photo Credit: Jason Moser.
Republished from Twin Cities.com.



Sources

Olson, Rochelle. (2012, July 4). Volunteer's dog finds missing 5-year-old Wisconsin boy. Pioneer Press. Retrieved July 20, 2012 from http://www.startribune.com/local/east/161351225.html?refer=y

Without a Trace

By Denise Allen

Charles Horvath Allen
Missing since 5/26/89
Kelowna, BC, Canada

Today is May 26, 2012, the 23rd anniversary since my young son, Charles Horvath-Allen, was last seen alive whilst visiting Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada from home in Yorkshire, England.

I have been trekking across the world for over two decades in the search of the fate of my lost son.

Sadly, I am no longer able to travel to Canada--age, health and finances forced this most difficult decision on the 21st anniversary.

On May 3, 2010, I launched a billboard for Charles in Kelowna...21 years after he arrived there, full of hopes and dreams.

Please remember missing Charles Karoly John HORVATH-ALLAN' aged 20 in 1989.


If you have any information, please contact:

Cpl L Cullen - Serious Crime Unit
Kelowna Detachment RCMP file 1989/21784
350 Doyle Ave
KELOWNA V1Y 6V7
British Columbia Canada
Tel: (1) 250 470 6326 Desk
Tel (1) 250 762 3300 RCMP Switchboard
email: lisa.cullen@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Sincerely,

Denise Allan (Charles's mom)

12/11/11: Clinton Hamilton, 19, Oaktown, IN

Clinton Hamilton, 19, of Bicknell, Ind., disappeared along a rural road in Oaktown after taking his friends for a ride near the Wabash River on Dec. 11, 2011 around 4 a.m.

"They were just out driving Saturday night and for one reason or another the truck drowned out and he was going to stay with his truck and that's the
last time we had word of him," said Indiana Conservation Officer Tony Mann. (WTHITV.com, Dec. 13, 2011).

When he failed to come home, his family called police.

On Dec. 11, 2011, Hamilton’s truck was found in high flood waters near Wolf Hill in a remote part of northern Knox County. An extensive three-month, multi-agency search was then conducted using divers, boats, ATVs, air support and canines.

No trace of Hamilton was found until Sunday, Mar. 11, 2012 when Hamilton's remains were found in a corn field near the location where Hamilton went missing. A concerned citizen found the remains around 1:08 p.m. and called the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.

According to The Washington Times-Herald, "a Knox County Crime Scene Detective and Coroner Gordon Belcher processed the scene and determined the remains did indeed belong to Hamilton. Indiana Conservation Officers, Oaktown Fire Department and Knox County EMS also assisted with the recovery."

There were no signs of foul play.

An autopsy, performed on March 11 by by Forensic Pathologist Dr. John Heidinsfelder of Evansville, found that the Knox County teen had died as the result of an accident.

Funeral services were held at the Sandborn Baptist Church. Memorial contributions were made to Riley at IU Health in Hamilton's name.

If you have any information, call the Knox County Sheriff's Office, 812-882-7660.



Sources

WSAU.com. (2012, March 15). Knox County Death Ruled Accidental. WSAU.com. Retrieved April 23, 2012.

The Washington Times-Herald. (2012, March 11). Remains of Missing Teen Found in Cornfield.  Retrieved April 19, 2012.

WTHITV.com. (2011, December 13.).Truck found but teen still missing. WTHITV.com. Retrieved April 23, 2012.

The Essay Project

In talking to the loved ones of young men who have disappeared or have been found deceased, I have been deeply touched to hear stories about what these young men were like in their daily lives. Their humanity, and the gravity of what we've all lost, is something that is seldom touched upon by the media.

Most recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Ryan Buell, friend and roommate to Columbia College student Jay Polhill. Jay's body was recovered from Chicago's Calumet River in March 2010 after he had inexplicably disappeared. Ryan shared with me some recollections of Jay and kindly agreed to write an essay for Footprints. The essay, which will be published shortly, touches upon Jay's warmth, sense of humor, and creative spirit. It also gives us a glimpse into why each one of these cases is important. I hope to post similar essays going forward. Please look for them under "Essays" on the tag cloud.

St. Patrick's Day reflections

St. Patrick's Day Parade, South Boston 2007
Photo credit: Boston.com

I hope you all had a happy and safe St. Patrick’s Day. I have read no news reports of missing men, so my hope is that all our young adults have made it home safely. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on how St. Patrick's Day has touched the lives of some of the young men who have gone missing.


Missing in Boston

The weekend of St. Patrick’s Day 2007 greeted revelers in Boston with an assault of stinging, pelting snow that was carried horizontally by the cold, whipping wind. Visibility along the water was poor and temperatures were in the teens. The storm was not expected to wind down until March 17. Despite the poor weather in Boston, the St. Patrick’s Day festivities carried on with many venturing out in the snow.

That weekend, two young sailors from North Carolina—Dustin Willis, 26, and William Hurley, 22—arrived in Boston to spend their shore leave at one of the nation’s biggest annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Although the men were stationed aboard different ships, their lives would intersect in an odd coincidence, years later—both would ultimately disappear, their lives ending tragically.



Dustin Willis


Dustin Willis


Dustin Willis, a 26-year old Navy petty officer 3rd class, was serving aboard the USS Donald Cook, a guided missile destroyer carrying a crew of approximately 338. The vessel arrived in South Boston on Mar. 16, 2007 and had docked in Boston Harbor for St. Patrick’s Day.

“Dusty,” as he was known to family and friends, was a native of Frisco, N.C. and was stationed out of Norfolk, Va. He and his girlfriend, Shawna, and their 5-year old son, Logan Gene, were living in Rodanthe, N.C. They were looking forward to the future, when they could spend more time together as a family and eventually make a home for themselves in Virginia Beach, Va.


A long-awaited night on the town

The crew of the USS Donald Cook was just coming off a long and tedious schedule and looking forward to some down-time before their return trip home. Like many other Navy personnel that night, Dusty decided to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an evening out on the town, despite the poor weather.

He and some of his shipmates spent the evening in Boston’s tourist area, the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area. This area is on the waterfront and about 11/3 miles from the ship.

Dusty was wearing civilian clothing, a jacket, blue jeans, and a tuxedo t-shirt which did stand out a bit from the crowd, but it was not his habit to carry much cash.

He spoke with his parents in North Carolina around 10 p.m., then called Shawna again at 10:50 p.m., mentioning that he had some beers to drink that night. Both his father and his girlfriend say he was not drunk; he was in full control of his faculties and not slurring his words.

Shawna was still chatting on the phone with Dusty at 11 p.m., when he and his shipmates left McFadden’s bar. When Willis turned the corner near the Black Rose Pub in Quincy Market, his shipmates lost sight of him in the blowing snow. They assumed he had ducked into a building, but when they checked out a few places, he was nowhere to be found. His cell phone call to Shawna then ended abruptly.

Both Shawna and his shipmates called Dusty's cell phone and left messages, but got no response. An hour later, Dusty's phone was found by a passerby on the sidewalk near the Legal Sea Foods restaurant by the Long Wharf. It was then turned in to the police department.

There was no other trace of Dusty Willis.

Dusty, a gas turbine system technician, was known to be exceptionally reliable. Just three days before the night of his disappearance, he had just received the Navy Achievement Medal and was described as having a stellar, spotless record during his four years in the Navy. It was not like him to disappear, yet he was not reported missing until 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when he was due to report back to the ship.




Long Wharf in Boston
Photo credit: kamalyn

On Wed., Mar. 21, 2007 at around midnight, Dusty Willis's body was found in the frigid waters of Boston Harbor, not far from the Long Wharf, where his cell phone was found. His identification was found on his body. There was no significant trauma found, and authorities said his body had been in the water for more than a few days. The underwater scene was documented with a camera as part of the evidence collection.

Officials believe Dusty's death was a bad mishap, that after he was separated from his friends, he became confused in the driving snow and accidentally fell off the dock.

"I do miss my son. He served his country and I am very proud of him. I am glad he had friends in the service-- people who cared about my son. My other four children, their wives, their grandchildren, my wife, Michelle, we want to thank everyone for what they've done. We want to take my son home and give him the burial he deserves," Dusty's father, Tony Willis, told TheBostonChannel.com.


William Hurley

On St. Patrick's Day 2007, William Hurley, 24, was serving alongside a crew of 206 aboard the Navy frigate USS De Wert. Spending shore leave in Boston over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend is a tradition for the Navy, and like the USS Donald Cook, the DeWert had docked in Boston Harbor.

William Hurley, also ventured out into the blizzard-like conditions to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. He met his future fiancee, Claire, while out on the town.

Claire, a graduate of Emmanuel College, was working on her master’s degree in teaching at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. William belonged to the MP Division and had served on the USS DeWert since Sept.7, 2005. He was stationed out of Mayport, Fla.

William Hurley and girlfriend, Claire

On May 30, 2008, about a year after William and Claire met, William's military service on the USS DeWert ended. That December, he moved to Quincy, Mass., to live with Claire. The two had agreed to get married and were in the process of saving up some money. William had bought Claire an engagement ring for Christmas, but told a coworker that the timing wasn’t quite right to give it to her yet.

William worked as a greenskeeper at the Weston Country Club in Weston, Mass. On Oct. 8, 2009, a coworker invited him to see his first Boston Bruins hockey game at the TD Banknorth Gardens in Boston. After getting off work, William took the train to the coworker's home in Brighton, Mass. There, they were joined by another friend, and the three took public transportation to the game.

William had previously commented that he was tired and, reportedly, he also had two or three beers at the game. After the first period, he called Claire to pick him up. According to one report, he felt ill.

Claire drove from their home in Quincy to pick him up; and William left the game to meet her outside. William was not very familiar with the area. He did not know where to tell Claire to meet him, so he asked a passerby the exact address. Claire heard someone yell “99 Nashua Street,” then William told her his phone was about to die, and he would wait for her there. The call ended abruptly. Claire was just two blocks away, but by the time she arrived at the address, William was gone.

According to WHDH.com, William's cell phone was found smashed on the ground during one of the searches to locate him.

Authorities found no other trace of the young man until six days later on Oct. 14, 2009, when his body was found in the Charles River. There were no signs of trauma to the body, and his wallet, cash, and keys were found on his person, ruling out the possibility of robbery.

At the time, Boston.com reported that “Hurley appeared to be walking across the street from the Nashua Street Jail in an 'unfenced area' of a park along the banks of the Charles.”

It is not known why he was headed in that direction, especially when he knew his ride was coming.



Eugene Losik
with girlfriend, Caitlin

Eugene Losik

Four months later, another young man, Eugene "Gene" Losik, disappeared after a birthday party celebration in Boston. While Gene did not disappear on St. Patrick's Day (he went missing on Feb. 20, 2010), he did have ties to the military, and disappeared in the area where Dusty Willis had been found just three years before. Gene's girlfriend of four years, Caitlin, was one of the last people to see him. The couple had planned to get married the following year.

Gene was a graduate of the College of Engineering at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, obtaining a degree in Electrical Engineering in 2008. While he was not in the military, he worked as an engineer developing test equipment at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewskbury, Mass. The company holds large international and domestic military defense contracts, including the US Missile Defense Agency, the US Armed Forces, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The night he disappeared, Gene spent the evening drinking and dancing at Fanueil Hall with his girlfriend Caitlin and some friends. The group then returned to their rooms at the nearby Marriott Long Wharf Hotel. Gene and a buddy played cards in another friend's room from 1:15 a.m. until about 2:10 a.m., while Caitlin slept in her hotel room. About fifteen minutes after the card game broke up, Gene was seen on camera leaving the hotel through the back entrance, possibly to have a cigarette. The back entrance is near Tia's Restaurant and Christopher Columbus Park.

It is unclear why he did not return to the hotel or where Gene may have been headed. He was not wearing a coat or a hat, his cell phone had run out of its charge, and he only had about $20 in his wallet.

On Nov. 18, 2010, his body was found in Boston Harbor near Rowe's Wharf.

Friends and family also wonder why Gene wasn't spotted by someone after he left the hotel. The hotel is a popular spot and very active with people coming and going into the early hours of the morning.


A busy weekend in the harbor

On the weekend Gene disappeared, Navy and Coast Guard forces had also been brought in to secure the Boston Harbor area for the first of several LNG tanker deliveries from Yemen. The vessel was scheduled to arrive on Tues., Feb. 23, 2010, while Gene Losik was still missing.

The tankers, which arrive at a rate of two to three per month, carry liquefied natural gas. Local officials have opposed having the vessels in the harbor, citing safety concerns about the explosive fuel coming within 50 feet of some residential neighborhoods. Concerns about lending support to terrorism or increasing the risk of terrorist activity were also raised, as the suspect in the failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a Detroit-bound flight had reportedly received training in Yemen.




LNG Tanker from Yemen in Boston Harbor
Photo source: Massachusetts National Guard


Because of these concerns, the arrival of the first tanker in Boston was a massive, choreographed, multi-agency effort. Streets were secured in the harbor area, and Boston Police had special operations and detail officers standing by as the 935-foot Maran Gas Coronis crossed under the Tobin Memorial Bridge around 4:30 a.m.

The tanker had been searched by the Coast Guard several miles off shore before coming into the harbor. When she arrived, the ship was "flanked by pilot vessels and tugs, and was escorted by about a dozen law enforcement boats, with their blue lights flashing. Two police helicopters patrolled above, and an army of state and local police officers, including special operations officers, guarded the land. Patrol cars and wagons were visible at nearly every vantage point with a view of the ship’s arrival." (WHDH.com, 2/23/10).

Yet, despite all the additional personnel stationed around the harbor, no one spotted the missing Gene Losik.


Gregory Hart

In March of 2010, the family of a man from Dedham, Mass. became worried when he did not show up to meet them for a St. Patrick's Day parade. Gregory Hart, "Greg" as he was known to family and friends, had last been seen with three old colleges buddies at a bar in Providence, R.I., where he was celebrating a new job. Providence is about an hour southwest of Boston.

Greg Hart with girlfriend, Bridget

Greg was last seen at around 1:40 a.m when he got up and left the tavern. He either said nothing when he left, or his friends did not hear him at the time. Throughout the night, friends tried calling Greg's cell phone, but it went unanswered. By Sunday, when he hadn't returned for the St. Patrick's Day parade, his family became "seriously worried" and filed a missing person's report.

Police did not begin a search for Greg, despite reports that some type of disturbance or altercation had taken place at the bar that night.


Family suspects foul play

Three days later, a family friend found Hart's body washed up against a tree limb in the rain-swollen Woonasqatucket River in Providence. It was found upstream from the bar where he was last seen.

An autopsy indicated that Greg, a licensed and experienced scuba diver who was very familiar with the water, had drowned. The exam also noted injuries to the body that suggest Greg had been in a fight that night, but the medical examiner maintains that there were no signs of foul play. Tests also showed that Greg had been very intoxicated at the time, yet his friends say he didn't have much to drink that night.

Greg's family believes it was foul play and has hired a private investigator. Among the many things they found: tests on Greg's cell phone indicate that the phone had not been in water, although one police report said the phone was found on his partially submerged body.

Greg Hart had just moved to Dedham, Massachusetts. Like Gene Losik, he was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and had had a girlfriend, Bridget, for the past four years. He was also very bright and had been on the dean's list all through college, graduating cum laude in economics.

Greg was in the Navy and had been accepted into an officer's program to be a Navy fighter pilot. He had also just landed a new job as an applications specialist at Meditech, a leading software vendor to the healthcare industry based out of Westwood, Mass. The job provided him with opportunities to travel.

The news has devasted his family. "He's my heart. I can't even function. Nothing's important anymore," his mother, Marianne Hart, told the Providence Journal.

Hart’s father said his son was his “best friend.”


Other young men with ties to Boston

Other young men with ties to Boston have also disappeared during the month of March, though they do not appear to have a connection to St. Patrick's Day or the military.

Most recently, Alexander Grant, a 19-year old student at Boston College, died on Mar. 5, 2011 from drowning and hypothermia after visiting friends at a party in Skidmore College in Saratoga, N.Y. Alexander, who lived in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., was a talented keyboardist, accomplished musician, mathematician, and fundraiser for various charities. He worked for the past three years as an intern at Risk Resources, LLC, a financial advisory company in New York City.

Just four days prior to Alexander's disappearance, 24-year old David Mark was found on the shoreline near 498 Meridian Street in East Boston, Mass. David, who was from Albany, N.Y., had left on a spur of the moment trip to visit his sister in the Boston suburb of Newton, Mass. Authorities suspect that after stopping at a bar in Boston, David, who suffered from Type 1 diabetes and was without his insulin, may have become confused and disoriented.


Other young men who disappeared on St. Patrick's Day

Other young men have disappeared on St. Patrick's Day, although not in Boston, and they did not necessarily have other factors in common.

Joshua Kamuela Kaneakua, 22, of Minneapolis, Minn., was last seen on Mar. 17, 2007, at Gabby's Saloon and Eatery on the northeast side of Minneapolis, where he had been celebrating St. Patrick's Day. His body was discovered in the Mississippi River on Mar. 27, 2007, near the Lake Street Bridge. His death was ruled a suicide.

Antwane Tucker, 24, of St. Cloud, Minn., also vanished after leaving Gabby's Saloon on St. Patrick's Day in 2009. His fully clothed body was found on Friday, May 15, 2009 near the Hennepin Avenue bridge. There were no signs of trauma, and the death was ruled a suicide.



Originally published: 3/18/11 11:24 a.m.    Updated: 3/13/12 4:19 p.m.

11/01/09: Russell Plummer, 20, Bloomer, WI

Russell Plummer

On November 1, 2009, 20-year old Russell J. Plummer, a private in the National Guard, disappeared after leaving the Mornings Corner Tavern, east of Bloomer, Wisconsin.

His mother, Penny Hetke, said her son said hello to a friend, took $20 out of the ATM, bought either a beer or a soda, and left the bar. It was the last time he was seen.

His family reported him missing on November 8 after he did not report for weekend training with the Guard.

Plummer's Honda Civic
Photo credit: WQOW.com

A search party located Plummer's yellow Honda Civic parked deep in the Chippewa County Forest, north of Bob Lake. The car was found on a path off a dirt trail where he often drove. The ignition was on, and the battery was dead.

Plummer's body was found by Chippewa County Sheriff's deputies near a pile of brush, 30-40 yards down the hill from his car in the Hay Meadow Flowage area of the forest. He had on a coat, but his pants were unzipped and around his thighs. There were no outward signs of traumatic injury or a struggle.

The body was taken to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office where it was autopsied by Dr. Michael McGee. McGee noted that Plummer had non-life threatening contusions and abrasions to the face, arms, legs and back, but no traumatic injuries. He ruled that Plummer's death was caused by hypothermia due to exposure--his death was an accident.

Jay North, Russell's father, said that the Sheriff's Department told him that his son's injuries were consistent with having fallen down the hill.

But for Plummer's family and friends, the investigation and subsequent ruling left them with more questions than answers.

Plummer was a tough outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish and who knew those woods "like the back of his hand." He had also been through training with the National Guard and was scheduled to go to Afghanistan.

They questioned how Plummer could have died from exposure, just feet from the car containing his cell phone and a bag full of warm clothes.

Plummer's toxicology results had been negative for drugs and alcohol.

The family also received some conflicting information.

Since Russell was in the National Guard, the U.S. Army does a companion investigation. The Chippewa County Sheriff's department provides the Criminal Investigation Command at Ft. McCoy with information, and asks questions surrounding the case.

In one set of documents it was reported that, "the location and position of the body were inconsistent with a fall down the hill." In other reports, it shows Russell's injuries were "consistent with a tumbling fall or slide."

North says, "(The Chippewa County Sheriff's Department) told us all the injuries were consistent with him taking a tumble down that hill."

An investigator with Chippewa County reported to the Ft. McCoy office that there were too many trees on the hill that would've stopped Russell's body from reaching the bottom of the hill.

- WQOW.com, 11/16/10.

In late November 2010, a two-part investigation by Fox 9 News Twin Cities aired, questioning the way some death investigations had been handled by the Ramsey County Medical Examiners Office. After seeing that report, the Plummer family contacted Fox 9 investigators. They wondered whether Russell's death had been reviewed as carefully as it could have been.

The family also hired Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a hypothermia expert from Canada. Giesbrecht told Fox 9 that, "something killed him immediately and he cooled thereafter, or something inhibited him and he cooled until he died."

The Fox 9 investigation noted that tissue samples of Plummer's heart and brain were never tested to look for medical conditions that might have caused him to die suddenly.

And tests for "date rape" drugs like chloroform, GHB, and Rohypnol--which might knock a person out--were never done, even though Plummer had last been seen at a bar and his pants were partially down. Routine specimens were collected as part of a sexual assault examination, but those tests were not tested to determine if another person's DNA was present.

Fox 9 asked two other forensic pathologists to review the records from Plummer's autopsy--both said they would not have come to the conclusion that Plummer's death was hypothermia until all other facts had been ruled out.

You can watch the Fox 9 video here.

About Russell Plummer

BLOOMER - Russell J. Plummer, age 20, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, in the Chippewa County Forest in Wisconsin.

He was born March 24, 1989, in Rice Lake to Penny Plummer and Jay North. He attended St. Paul Lutheran School and Bloomer High School. He was a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, and a recent graduate of Army Specialty Training in artillery weapons repair. He was also the honor graduate for his class at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. He enjoyed being in the Army, hunting, fishing, being outdoors, working on and riding motorcycles, cars and snowmobiles, spending time with his family and friends.

He is survived by mother, Penny (Vinnie) Hetke, of Cornell; father, Jay (Rochelle) North, of New Auburn; maternal grandparents, Russell (Clancy) Plummer of Weyerhaeuser and Ruth Hetke of Bloomer; paternal grandparents, Jeanette (Kenneth) Bell of Cameron and Elmer (Eileen) Dahlberg of Barron; brothers, Vinny Hetke III of Cornell, Chad (Katie) Manor of Monroe, Casey Manor of New Auburn and Nathan Peterson of New Auburn; sisters, Dustine (Eric) Gass of New Auburn, Sachel Hetke of Cornell and Kaysa North of New Auburn; numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins; and friends.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfathers, Vinton Hetke Sr. and Allen "Whiskers" North; and best friend, Chip Rands.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, at Seventh Day Baptist Church in New Auburn, with the Rev. Wayne North officiating. Interment will be in the New Auburn Cemetery with full military rites.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Olson Funeral Home in Bloomer, and one hour prior to services on Monday at the church.

Online condolences may be expressed at olsonfuneralhomebloomer.com.

- Eau Claire Leader-Telegram obituary, 11/13/09.

Facts of Interest
Last Seen:  11/1/09, Mornings Corner Tavern, 18982 State Highway 124 # 64, Bloomer, WI
Recovered: 11/10/09, Chippewa County Forest, Chippewa County, WI
Physical Description: 5'5", 145 pounds, slim build, brown eyes and brown hair in a crew cut
Investigating Agency: Chippewa County sheriff's office, (715) 726-7701.

Project Jason: A Voice for the Missing (A documentary by Christina Fontana)

"If you are over the age of 18 and you go missing in the United States, your hope of rescue is commonly placed in the hands of local law enforcement. In most states, if they don’t know how or don’t want to look for you, they won’t."
- "Project Jason: A Voice for the Missing" Web site

Kelly Jolkowski, the founder of Project Jason, is working with accomplished documentary filmmaker Christina Fontana to produce a film that will raise awareness about missing people and promote new state legislation that will save lives.

The film, "Project Jason: A Voice for the Missing," takes a hard-hitting look at the plight of missing adults in the United States, highlighting how some families have been left "abandoned and sometimes even abused because of a failed system." The film points out that, "unlike children, who are federally protected, adult missing person cases are handled by local law enforcement who all to frequently have no protocols or training in place on how to proceed with recovery efforts."

Kelly Jolkowski experienced this firsthand when her 19-year old son, Jason, disppeared on June 13, 2001, after setting out from his home in Omaha, Nebraska. He was to join his awaiting carpool to work, just walk eight blocks away, but he never made it. He is still missing today.

After struggling to find adequate, trained resources in the community who could assist her in finding her son, Jolkowski decided to create Project Jason, a non-profit organization, so other families would never feel as alone as she and her husband felt. Project Jason has reached out to the families of the missing to provide not only media exposure, but counseling and support retreats, and also outreach education to the community, and DNA training for law enforcement. Project Jason is now leading the fight to have grounbreaking legislation passed in all 50 states that will mprove the efficiency of the response in missing persons' cases. The legislation has already passed in 10 states and is now underway in others.

You can read more about the film and Project Jason here. I also encourage you to watch the video clip below.

DNA Projects Target Missing Persons Cases

The following is an informative article highlighting just one of the many challenges to solving missing persons cases. It also illustrates the advances being made through DNA technology and the importance in utilizing it.

It has been reprinted in its entirety from The CJIS Link, (Vol. 9, No. 3, October 2006), the newsletter of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division.


DNA Projects Target Missing Persons Cases
By Glenn R. Schmitt, Acting Director, National Institute of Justice

On any given day, there are as many as 100,000 active missing persons cases in the United States, and every year, tens of thousands of people vanish under suspicious circumstances. Missing persons and unidentified human remains (UHR) investigations-—particularly, if a case goes cold—present a tremendous challenge for financially strapped state and local law enforcement agencies.

The Nation's missing persons and UHR problem is compounded by the following facts:

1. There are more than 40,000 human remains held in the property rooms of medical examiners, coroners, and police departments across the country that cannot be identified by conventional means.
2. Out of these 40,000 cases, only 6,000 have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. (See sidebar, "Tackling Problems with the Missing Persons Databases.") Twenty-five percent of the 6,000 cases are known homicides, and another 25 percent are likely homicides.
3. Many cities and counties continue to bury or cremate unidentified remains without an attempt to collect DNA.
4. Many crime laboratories are unable to perform a timely DNA analysis of human remains, especially when they are old or have degraded.
5. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is working to help local jurisdictions meet these challenges through the President's DNA Initiative, a 5-year, $1 billion plan to maximize the use of DNA technology in the criminal justice system. The NIJ is funding projects to eliminate backlogs of unanalyzed DNA samples from sexual assault and murder cases; stimulate DNA research and development; promote state legislation requiring that DNA samples be taken before cremation or burial of UHR; and train the criminal justice community on DNA technology.

CSI meets the real world

In one of the NIJ's projects, DNA identification methods such as those featured in the TV drama CSI are offered to law enforcement in the real world. At the Center for Human Identification (CFHI) at the University of North Texas Health and Science Center in Fort Worth, any state or local law enforcement agency can have nuclear (STR) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing performed at no charge. Tests are provided for human remains and for reference samples provided by families of missing persons. The CFHI also performs examinations on human remains (also at no charge) to determine the manner and cause of death. The DNA profiles are then uploaded to the CFHI's special database for searching nationwide.

The NIJ's funding of this revolutionary project means that every jurisdiction has access to one of only three laboratories in the country (the other two are run by the FBI and the California Department of Justice) capable of searching both mtDNA and STR profiles. The CFHI's work continues to solve missing persons and UHR cases, like the recent "cold hit" in the Marci Bachmann investigation.

Marci Bachmann was 16 years old when she ran away from her Vancouver, Washington, home in May 1984. Although her remains were found a few months later near Deer Creek in Missoula, Montana, and information on "Debbie Deer Creek" was entered into the NCIC, a connection to Marci was not made. And, less than two years later, the entering agency removed her missing persons entry after receiving a report that Marci was spotted near Seattle. However, the sighting wasn't Marci, and her remains lay in a Missoula morgue for the next 20 years.

The case couldn't have been colder when, in 2004, a Missoula detective heard about the CFHI and sent a femur from Debbie Deer Creek's remains to the lab. The CFHI's scientists ran DNA tests and uploaded the profile into the database. Meanwhile, in a completely unrelated investigation, detectives working the Green River murders in King County, Washington, came across Marci's missing persons file. When a telephone call to Marci's mother revealed that Marci was still missing, they secured a DNA sample from Marci's mother and sent it to the CFHI. The database revealed a potential match with the remains of Debbie Deer Creek. After DNA from Marci's brother and father was also then analyzed at the CFHI, on April 6—over 21 years after her body was unearthed from a shallow grave—Marci Bachmann was "found." Investigation revealed that Marci had been murdered by Missoula serial killer Wayne Nance.

Neither chance nor luck

The CFHI’s program manager George Adams quotes from Vernon Geberth’s Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques when he talks about “cold hits” like the one that occurred in the Bachmann case.

“Solving a cold case like Marci’s is not a matter of chance or luck,” Adams said. “It is a matter of design and protocol.”

The “design” is the CFHI’s “CODIS + Mito” database, and the “protocol” is intended to work like this: If a missing person is not found within 30 days, a family reference sample, such as DNA from a close relative (using a buccal cheek swab) or a personal item (like a comb or a toothbrush) belonging to the missing person, is sent to the CFHI. The sample is analyzed, using both STR and mtDNA methodologies, and the profile is uploaded to the database. Meanwhile, human remains, wherever they are found, anywhere in the country, are sent to the CFHI for analysis.

“If we already have the family reference sample, we will get a match,” Adams said. No longer does solving a missing persons or UHR case have to depend on a break in the investigation because, he added, “we now have the ‘design and protocol’ of pure science.”

However, getting hits that help solve missing persons and UHR cases is dependent on the CFHI’s receipt of family reference samples to load into the database.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in the number of remains samples, but we really need to work on getting family reference samples,” said Dr. Arthur Eisenberg, a member of the Missing Persons National Task Force and the person who heads up the CFHI. “If families don’t send reference or biological samples—which, at this stage, must be collected by a law enforcement official—human remains cannot be identified.”

The challenge is to spread the word that this free resource is available. And, as word spreads, it is hoped that the CFHI’s DNA analyses and database will come to be regarded not as a tool of last resort in a missing person or UHR case but as a primary investigative tool.

Contact CFHI, 1-800-763-3147, missingpersons@hsc.unt.edu.

Reprinted from The CJIS Link (Vol. 9, No. 3, October 2006), the newsletter of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. (Link:  http://www.dna.gov/identifying-persons/missing-persons/missing-persons-projects.)

Fox 9 Investigative Report on Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office

Originally published: 12/1/10. Updated: 9/21/12

A 9-month long investigation by Fox 9 News raises serious concerns about a Minnesota medical examiner.

In the two-part series that aired on Nov. 22, 2010 reporter Jeff Baillion examines some of the determinations made by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office and, in particular, by Dr. Michael McGee, the county's chief medical examiner for the past 25 years. The report by Fox 9 highlights potential errors that may have caused offenders to go free, or the innocent to be wrongfully imprisoned.

The attorney for one family faults McGee for not examining all the evidence in her shooting death. Mark Gherty, the attorney for the family of Jane Nuemann, says McGee reached the conclusion that her death was a suicide before examining death scene photos. The case was later sent to other experts from around the state who arrived at a different conclusion--homicide. Gherty believes her husband, Jim, got away with murder.

In two other cases, men were given life sentences for murder when evidence casting doubt on their guilt was never heard by the jury. Both accuse McGee of making serious errors in their cases.

In the summer of 1996 while on a family vacation, Thomas Rhodes, a young vice president of a business firm, was driving a boat when he claims his wife, Jane, fell overboard. He circled back and jumped in to look for her but was unable to find her in the water. Her bruised body was recovered the following day. Dr. McGee declared it a homicide, and Rhodes was indicted for her murder. During the trial, McGee presented a graphic clay model that illustrated bruising on her face and neck. Rhodes was convicted. In a bid for a new trial, two other forensic pathologists reviewed the autopsy findings. One said the bruises occurred after Mrs. Rhodes had died and that her death was an accidental drowning. Another pathologist called McGee's findings, "highly speculative and unsupported by the medical evidence." He apologized to Thomas Rhodes' parents for the mistakes of his colleague. Despite the new testimony, Rhodes was denied a new trial in 2007. He is still in prison.

Kent Jones was found guilty in two separate trials for the murder of Linda Jensen. Dr. McGee's findings of sexual assault and his subsequent testimony played a pivotal role in Jones' conviction. An independent review of his findings showed that Dr. McGee had miscalculated crucial test results. The miscalculation opened a 4-hour window in which another perpetrator could have killed Jensen. The timing matches an eye witness account from a mail carrier who saw a man leaving the house. The Innocence Project is working with Kent Jones to get his conviction overturned.


The report also shows that two forensic pathologists on his staff are not board certified, nor do staff members from his office regularly attend forensic conferences.

 McGee is not a government employee, but a contractor hired by Ramsey County. He serves as the chief medical examiner for Ramsey County, and he is also the chief medical examiner for Washington County. In addition, he provides services to 11 other Minnesota counties (Aitken, Cass, Clay, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Kannabec, Norman, Pine, Polk, Sherburne, Waseca) and has done work in Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. The Fox 9 report reveals that contracts with his office in 2009 for Minnesota alone totalled nearly a million dollars. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner, by comparison, is a government employee who earned $232,860. The concern, some defense attorneys have argued, is the potential for bias when benefitting from such valuable contracts.


It has been reported that the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office conducted examinations of Dan Zamlen, Joey Kaiser, Nicholas Rossini, and Jeremy Steinkeoway--a man fell through the ice in 2003.

You can check out the two-part report by Fox 9 News below, as well as other news reports on this topic.

Part 1

Part 2

Light a Candle for Joshua

Josh Guimond, Nov. 2009

On November 9, 2002--eight years ago today--Joshua Guimond disappeared from the St. John's University campus in Collegeville, MN.

Josh had been playing cards with friends at the Metten Court residence hall when he left around midnight. He never made it back to his dorm room.

It was three minutes away.

Josh's family continues to hope that they will one day find answers

and, hopefully, some justice.

Answers to what happened to Josh cannot come without more public awareness.

We need to remember Josh Guimond, and keep hope alive.

Please place a lit candle in your window on Nov. 9th.

For more information about Joshua Guimond, visit: http://www.findjoshua.com/.

09/17/10: Matthew Anderson, 29, Roseville, MN

Update: Matthew Anderson has been found safe!

Matthew Anderson

On September 24, Matthew Anderson was found unharmed at a construction site in Las Vegas, Nevada and taken to a hospital. He was described as being in "good medical condition." Authorities have declined to answer whether Anderson was alone or why he was taken to the hospital.

A press release issued Sept. 24 by The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said their investigation revealed that Anderson had “left Minnesota on his own volition,” traveling to Las Vegas via Chicago.

According to The Pioneer Press, there are no plans to press charges against Anderson since he made the kidnapping claim to his wife and not to the police.

The young man's family plans to bring him home.

"There have been a lot of people praying for him, a lot of people with nothing but optimism and positive vibes," his father, William Anderson, told The Pioneer Press.

Footprints at the River's Edge is thankful that this young man can be brought home safely to his family!

09/03/10: Adam Zaccardi, 32, Fridley, MN

Adam James Zaccardi, 32, from Minneapolis, MN was last seen around midnight on Sept. 3 in the parking lot of Springbrook Apartments in Fridley after attending a party.

Fridley Police, Coon Rapids Police K-9, Anoka County Sheriff K-9, Minnesota State Patrol helicopter and Fridley Fire started searching for the man 5 p.m. Sept. 9. in the Springbook Nature Center at 100 85th Ave. N.E. in Fridley. The Nature Center is next to the apartments where he was last seen.

A Fridley firefighter discovered Zaccardi's body at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 10 in a drainage pond adjacent to the Nature Center.

Zaccardi's death has been ruled an accidental drowning; his girlfriend of 15 years says he couldn't swim.

A memorial service for Zaccardi was held on September 15 at Washburn-McReavy Hillside Chapel in Minneapolis. Zaccardi's family told KSTP.com that he was always willing to help out his family and friends. He had a great sense of humor and was a good father to the couple's two sons.

Our thoughts go out to Zaccardi's family and friends at this difficult time.

Ways Get Involved

Volunteer
Volunteers are often needed to search and distribute flyers. Check out the family's official search page to see where help is needed most in your area.

Get the word out about a missing person

Print a missing person's poster for someone in your area and hang it in a visible spot. (The more posters, the better!) Hold a candlelight vigil and contact the media. Write in to television shows like Nancy Grace, 48 Hours or 20-20 and urge producers to feature the case on television. Spread the word about a missing person on social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Twitter) or on Blogger or You Tube. Send out an e-mail to your friends.

Keep the story alive

Check the families official search website to see if buttons, window clings, bracelets or other items are available for sale. "Adopt" a missing person on Project Jason. Post reminders to social networking sites on important anniversaries. Write to your mayor, state representative, attorney general or others in government to urge that more be done.

Contribute to a Search or Reward Fund

Money is often needed to help families with unexpected expenses during a search or  investigation. Here are some examples of how your donations might be used:

• lodging and airfare for family or searchers
• printing of flyers
• website development
• private investigators
• attorney retainer
• reward fund for information
• scientific testing/experts
• counseling expenses
• activities to spread awareness

Many families have funds set up through banks or have official websites in which they accept PayPal, cash and check donations, frequent flyer miles, or other items for silent auctions. A few of the active fundraising campaigns are listed here.

Some families also sell buttons or other items to help raise awareness. Please be sure to do an internet search for the family's official Facebook or Web page for more details on ways you can help.

Report a tip to proper authorities

If you have any information to add to the investigation, please contact the police or anonymous tip line listed in each person's post on this blog. No tip is too small!

Offer support and encouragement

Loved ones often read this and other internet sites. Please be sure to leave only kind words of support, encouragement, or remembrance when you post online. Holidays and anniversaries can be especially tough. We encourage you to use the links on the menu to revisit a post and leave a comment of hope, encouragement, or remembrance at those times when it is needed the most.

Memorial donations

Donations can help families establish a scholarship, memorial bench, or other loving tribute for one who has passed.

Prevention and Ways to Affect Change

• Empower young people to be responsible for THEIR OWN safety.
• Remind young adults to look out for their friends.
• Urge bars to stop over-serving alcohol.
• Demand that law enforcement treat all drowning scenes like a potential crime scene, so that potential evidence is collected and preserved.
• Demand an equal response to search for ALL missing persons—any gender, any race, any age.
• Ask your legislators to pass “Brandon’s Law” in every state to help get the search for missing adults launched faster and treated seriously.
• Demand that schools be required to notify parents immediately when a college student goes missing.
• Attend a "Stick Together, Stay Alive" presentation by Jan Jenkins; ask your local library or high school to sponsor an event. Urge your local college to host a speaker on public safety during freshman orientation. 

  

Do you have other ideas for this list? Please feel free to leave your comments.

Canada's growing concern

There have been dozens of men in their late teens to mid-30s disappearing in Canada since 2007. The disappearances seem to be heavily concentrated near the Canadian-US border, particularly in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia to the west and in the more centrally located Great Lakes Basin, surrounding Lake Ontario.

There do seem to be some marked differences between the missing men in Canada and those in the United States, particularly the wider age range. But as in the U.S., most young men were attractive, physically fit, and had last been seen eating or drinking with friends before they disappeared.

According to the Water Poverty Index (WPI), Canada is ranked as one of the most water-rich nations in the world. The WPI measures "the impact of water scarcity and water provision on human populations" for a particular country, taking into account the amount of water present. And Canada has a lot of it. Canada, the second largest country in the world behind Russia, may contain the largest surface area of freshwater of any country (Natural Resources Canada, 08/26/03).

Yet, despite so many disappearances in such a water-rich country, very few of the men have been found in water. In fact, nearly all of the Canadian men are still missing. It is partly because of this--what has not been found--that I am growing increasingly concerned.

Kim Rossmo, a former profiler with the Vancouver Police Department, told the Vancouver Courier that statistically speaking, he finds it unusual that the men have not yet been recovered, as "90 percent of missing people are found within three weeks, and 98 percent are found within two months. After that the chance of finding a missing person decreases." According to the Courier, Rossmo is currently leading the Texas State University Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation; he is considered to be a leading expert in geographic profiling and environmental criminology.

For now, Rossmo says he will remain doubtful as to the existence of a serial killer, at least until he sees evidence. He cautions that it could be difficult to determine if there has been an increase in the number of missing men because "the interest could fluctuate by what's being covered in the media." (Vancouver Courier.)

According to The Canadian Press, "The police have shied away from suggesting any of the cases are connected, but an RCMP spokeswoman said investigators would likely be considering the possibility."

Yet, it would seem that the RCMP has had its hands full investigating other serial killers of late. In December 2007, serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of 6 women and sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years. Pickton had been charged with the first-degree murder of 26 women, but a decision was made to split the case into two separate trials, so he was only tried for six. There do not appear to be plans to try him for the remaining cases. Pickton, a pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, had been murdering women in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver from June 1983, or possibly even as early as 1979, until 2001 when he was arrested. According to CBS News, the Pickton case became the largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history. Around the same time Pickton was operating, women began disappearing along a northern stretch of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert. The area, dubbed the "Highway of Tears," is roughly 490 miles north of Vancouver (about 9 hours by car) and spans 446 miles from west to east. At least 18 women--mostly described as aboriginal teenagers who were hitchhiking--have disappeared or been murdered along this route since 1989. According to some reports, the number could be much higher. In October 2007, CBS News reported that police said, "the evidence neither discounts nor supports the theory that a serial killer was responsible for the murders and disappearances of the 18 women."

Ron Braumberger, the father of Bryan Braumberger, one of the first men to disappear in British Columbia, told The Canadian Press in May 2009, “there was an awful lot of young people that went missing around that time. I don’t know if it’s connected or what. Look how long it took them to connect the missing women down in (Vancouver’s Downtown) Eastside. So who knows.”

Now that the Pickton trial is behind us, the cases of the missing young men may begin to garner more media attention and hopefully, a renewed focus and commitment by law enforcement to investigate.

This may be comforting to the families of some of the young men who are wondering if the disappearances could be related.

Due to the mounting concerns about these disappearances in Canada, their close proximity to the border, and how helpful it might be to compare these tragic events in our two countries, I will be making a concentrated effort over the next month to post the faces of Canada's missing.

I hope we can help spread the word about these men.



Sources:
Map: Canada.com
Photos: Province.com via Facebook posting.

Where is Nathan Edberg?

Eleven years ago today, Nathan Edberg disappeared after leaving Decoy’s bar at 2143 4th Street in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. According to published reports, no one actually saw him leave the bar, but he is thought to have left around 7:30 p.m. Edberg's empty truck was later located in a ditch at the junction of Hwy 694 and Hwy 35E. Authorities believe Edberg probably went off the road after missing his exit, but the trail stops there.

Edberg's truck, found just a couple of miles from his mother's home, yielded no clues. There were no signs of a struggle nearby or any trace of Nathan Edberg. His keys were located inside the locked truck.

Tom Paget of the Ramsey County sheriff's office who managed the case from 2000 to 2007 said, "There's no indication of foul play, anything. He just disappeared. I talked to everybody I could. Everybody was at a loss as to what happened."

In Remembrance of Dan Zamlen

All I keep thinking is that all of the boys on your website are someone's little boys, someone's brothers. They are all aspiring young men who were taken too soon, leaving all of us to wonder why. We can only imagine the difference they would have made in the world. The families of these boys have had there hearts ripped apart. A pain that can't be healed - only managed." - Sally Zamlen, 4/7/10

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the disappearance and loss of Dan Zamlen, shortly before his 19th birthday. I hope you all join me in remembering this remarkable young man by watching this powerful memorial video and reading more about Dan's life on Finddan.org. Please also take a moment of silence or prayer for the Zamlen family and leave a comment about how Dan's story has touched your life.

A memorial service for Dan will be held Thursday, April 8, 7 PM in the Saint John Vianney (SJV) Chapel at 2115 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105.


Daniel Zamlen from Andrea Zamlen on Vimeo.

03/27/10: Missing La Crosse student found safe

Reprinted from the GazetteXtra:

Police say intoxicated missing UW-L student found in car after search

By MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 9 p.m.

Mar. 27--La Crosse police searched for more than five hours today before they found a missing 22-year-old University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student who had been last seen at 1 a.m. leaving the State Room bar downtown.

A police officer found Justin Hoard, of 302 N. 10th St., asleep in a car in a parking lot at 1003 Zeisler St. at about 9 a.m. Police said he had vomited outside the car and crawled into it to sleep.

He was awakened and submitted to a preliminary breath test that showed his blood-alcohol level to be about 0.09 percent. Based on that result at 9 a.m., his level at the time he left the bar would have been 0.21 percent, police said. The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.

Hoard told officers he had been drinking at a number of bars before going to the State Room, and did not remember going there. He left to walk home, became disoriented and could not find his residence, police said. Police started searching for him after receiving a missing-person report about 3:20 a.m.

Hoard was cited for disorderly conduct and also received a public intoxication warning, which requires him to attend a class.

In a press release, Police Chief Edward Kondracki said he wished Hoard could be charged with more because his drunken behavior had a huge negative impact on family, friends and the community.

Police called in three off-duty detectives and held over some third-shift personnel to help search for Hoard.

Police investigating third gorge death at Cornell University

The Ithaca Police Department is investigating the death of Cornell University engineering student Matthew Zika, who died near the suspension bridge over Fall Creek Gorge. According to the Cornell Daily Sun, "police first responded to Fall Creek Gorge at around 3:45 p.m. Friday afternoon [March 12.] The IPD temporarily closed the suspension bridge and the Stewart Avenue Bridge after a motorist reported seeing a man drop from the suspension bridge. Other witnesses found an unattended jacket and backpack containing a wallet, cell phone and other personal possessions on the suspension bridge."

This incident follows two other student deaths in the Fall Creek Gorge---William Sinclair on March 10 and Bradley Ginsberg on February 17. On March 22, CNN.com reported that the causes of all three deaths were determined to be suicide, bringing the total number to six for the academic year for Cornell, which CNN described as a "highly competitive Ivy League school."

Monitors have been temporarily placed at all bridges at Cornell University 24-7 and has plans to put up taller fences to act as a deterrent. They are also making students more aware of student support services.