Remains found on Lake Huron beach near Cheybogan, MI 5/26/08

[Audie]

Could they be Chuck Rutherford?

http://www.cheboygannews.com/articles/2008/05/28/news/news2.txt

This is one of the most intreging cases that I have read about. I imagine it will be made into a movie one day.

[Audie]

Remains May be Detroiter Missing for Years
Last Edited: Tuesday, 27 May 2008, 11:21 PM EDT
Created: Tuesday, 27 May 2008, 11:21 PM EDT

A grisly find in Cheboygan may be the key to unraveling a local mystery. It's where two metro-Detroit attorneys went missing back in 2005. Only one body was ever recovered. FOX 2's Brad Edwards shows us how that all changed tonight.

<see link for video>
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6638735&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1

[Nut44x4]

Thursday, May 29, 2008
Grosse Pointe
Family of missing lawyer notified after body found
Tanveer Ali / The Detroit News
Michigan State Police said Wednesday they have contacted the family of Charles Rutherford Jr., a Grosse Pointe lawyer missing since an August 2005 boating trip with his girlfriend, but acknowledged a body found on Lake Huron may be a plane crash victim or one of many missing Mackinac Bridge suicide jumpers.

The body was found by Memorial Day vacationers on rocks near Cheboygan, three miles north of where police found the body of Rutherford's companion, Lana Stempien, 35, nearly three years ago. The body remained in a local morgue Wednesday, awaiting transportation to medical examiners in Grand Rapids. Police said it may be weeks before the body is identified.

"Even after the autopsy, there are a lot of DNA tests to do," said Detective Sgt. Ron Nightingale. "We're talking a minimum of weeks."

Rutherford, 34, and Stempien went missing on a boat trip from Belle River, Ontario, to Mackinac Island on Aug. 11, 2005. The next day, their boat was found idling south of Marquette Island, with its GPS system on and life jackets on board.

Two weeks later, Stempien's body was found near Hammond Bay. After Rutherford's family filed a petition, a judge declared Rutherford legally dead a year later.

Despite the judge's ruling, members of Stempien's family suggest there was foul play in her death and have believed Rutherford is still alive. Joe Crowley, Stempien's cousin, said Wednesday the family was still looking for Rutherford, but wouldn't elaborate further.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/METRO01/805290332/1006/rss01

[packy]

Hopefully we'll know soon.

It did seem like foul play in that case mentioned above, since she was found without clothes on and I believe she had her watch on which seemed so odd.

[TeeOne]

Could they be Chuck Rutherford?

http://www.cheboygannews.com/articles/2008/05/28/news/news2.txt

This is one of the most intreging cases that I have read about. I imagine it will be made into a movie one day.


This story has been on 48 Hours or maybe Dateline, several times. From the reports I've read, wittnesses have come forward since the woman's body was found, stating that they saw the women and a male having an aruguement at a water side resturant, hours before the boat was found empty. Another witness came forward and said they saw the boat floating by the rocks, which was way to close to the shore and there was a boat speeding away.
Lana Stempien's body was found nude, but she still had her watch on. Lana was a strong swimmer and had been around boats her entire life. The ladder was not down on her boat.
It would make a great movie!

[Audie]

TeeOne, please post if you hear anything on the ID of the remains.

[TeeOne]

TeeOne, please post if you hear anything on the ID of the remains.

I certainly will, I know it will be big news here. Lana's dad lives on a canal about 20 minutes from us.....

[Audie]

June 13, 2008

Cops: Remains likely those of a male

ID of body found near beach will have to come from testing of DNA

By MIKE FORNES
Tribune Staff Writer

CHEBOYGAN - As investigators await DNA results from partial remains discovered May 26 along a rocky Lake Huron beach near the Cheboygan County-Presque Isle County line, a forensic pathologist has narrowed the parameters somewhat for the type of person he believes was found.

“He has given us a rough description of what the remains represent,” Detective/Sgt. Ron Nightingale said Wednesday of Dr. Norman Sauer, forensic anthropologist from Michigan State University. “Dr. Sauer believes that this body is of a male subject, 30 to 60 years old, who stood in the range of five-feet six-inches to five-feet 10-inches tall.”

One likely suspect still missing since an Aug. 11, 2005 boating incident is Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. attorney Charles Robert Rutherford Jr., 34, who was listed as six-feet two-inches tall on his Michigan driver's license. Fifty-five year-old H. Brooke Stauffer of Washington, D.C., missing in the Straits of Mackinac after a plane crash Aug. 24, was also listed as being six-feet two-inches tall.

In addition, a Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. man missing since his Feb. 5, 2007 leap from the Mackinac Bridge, Gary Morris, fits close to the range indicated at six-feet tall and 57 years of age.

Police now acknowledge that there is another man who has not been found since taking his own life in a jump from the bridge. Lynn Robert Splane, 67, died Nov. 2, 2007, police say, in an as yet unreported incident. Splane, from the Detroit suburb of Roseville, Mich., was six-feet three-inches tall and weighed 210 pounds, records show.

However, measurements of skeletal remains usually rely on the length of the femur - the leg bone that is the largest bone in a body - to help determine probable height. Nightingale said that the identification process is closing in, but not yet complete.

“Dr. Sauer's office is assisting us in the investigation,” Nightingale said. “Our methods of making final identification will be through the DNA process, as long as we can get DNA from the remains. That will still take a while longer.”

As to the estimated height of the remains, Nightingale admitted that it could still be any of the male victims currently missing in the Straits of Mackinac. In addition, height listings could be incorrect.

“It's not uncommon for people to list themselves taller on things like a driver's license, so it's hard to say,” Nightingale said. “We can pretty well eliminate the missing females, I'd think.”

An autopsy was performed June 2 by Dr. Stephen Cole, a forensic pathologist with Spectrum Health Hospitals in Grand Rapids, Mich.

A police canine trained in seeking human scents was brought in June 3 from Gaylord and spent two hours searching the area where the remains were found without pertinent results.

Two female victims connected to the boating and aircraft incidents have been recovered. The body of Lana Ann Stempien, 35, was found two weeks after her 27-foot cabin cruiser turned up unoccupied in open water near Marquette Island in northern Lake Huron in August 2005. The pilot of the missing plane, Karen Dodds, 51, also of Washington, D.C., was discovered by fishermen near the Mackinac Bridge on Oct. 8, 2007.

Two missing women and a six-month old female are still lost in the Straits of Mackinac from bridge incidents in 1987 and 2002. At least three other men have yet to be found after other marine fatalities in the last 12 years.

http://www.cheboygannews.com/articles/2008/06/13/news/news1.txt

[TeeOne]

It could be Charles Robert Rutherford Jr. Now we just have to wait and see.
Thanks for the article Audie

[kellabeck]

I will be very surprised if it is him. I think there's good reason to believe he's alive somewhere.

But even if it is him, the mystery will not be solved. We still won't know what happened.

[TeeOne]

I will be very surprised if it is him. I think there's good reason to believe he's alive somewhere.

But even if it is him, the mystery will not be solved. We still won't know what happened.

Why do you think he's off living a secret life somewhere? I know Lana's parent's kinda think that. I just didn't see enough evidence to be sure.

[Audie]

Well, it's been a month now. Anybody hearing anything?

[Nut44x4]

Still no word.......waiting on DNA

Remains Not Identified Yet


Michigan State Police in Cheboygan are still investigating human remains found on the Lake Huron shoreline in Cheboygan County Monday, May 26. An autopsy has been completed in Grand Rapids, but police have not yet identified the remains.
http://www.stignacenews.com/news/2008/0612/news/053.html

[TeeOne]

Still no word.......waiting on DNA

Remains Not Identified Yet


Michigan State Police in Cheboygan are still investigating human remains found on the Lake Huron shoreline in Cheboygan County Monday, May 26. An autopsy has been completed in Grand Rapids, but police have not yet identified the remains.
http://www.stignacenews.com/news/2008/0612/news/053.html


Thanks for the update!

[kellabeck]

Why do you think he's off living a secret life somewhere? I know Lana's parent's kinda think that. I just didn't see enough evidence to be sure.

Because his body wasn't found. Because Lana was found in the condition it was and because of the fact that Lana had shown interest in another man with whom she had a phone convo shortly before she vanished.

In short, because there are circumstances which point to foul play and to him as the perp. And to me that is consistent with his having killed her and disappeared.

But that's JMO.

[TeeOne]

Because his body wasn't found. Because Lana was found in the condition it was and because of the fact that Lana had shown interest in another man with whom she had a phone convo shortly before she vanished.

In short, because there are circumstances which point to foul play and to him as the perp. And to me that is consistent with his having killed her and disappeared.

But that's JMO.

From things I've read that's how Lana's parents are thinking also. I just think it would be so hard to disappear/vanish like that. I guess if he flipped out and killed her, he looked at it as his only way out.
I agree, I just wanted to see your reasoning.
Plus when they were at the resturant, the last place they were seen, a girl saw a man and women on the dock having an arguement.

[Audie]

Hopefully, one of these days, DNA matching will happen within days. Soon I hope.

eta: I almost forgot that this post (750) makes me a senior member. Now I can really feel old.

[Audie]

I can't believe they haven't IDd these remains yet.

[Harmony]

Were the remains ever identified???

[Audie]

Were the remains ever identified???:shrug1: I guess not yet. I checked some media links Monday but didn't find anything.

[Audie]

Unbelievable that almost 5 months has gone by and they can't say whether or not they belong to Rutherford.

[Harmony]

Unbelievable that almost 5 months has gone by and they can't say whether or not they belong to Rutherford.

Audie I have been checking here periodically. It is hard to believe they have not made an identification after all this time.

[Audie]

Monday, August 11, 2008

Secrets of the Deep

On May 28th of this year, human remains were found near Cheboygan, MI, roughly three miles from the location where Lana Stempien's body was found. DNA results are expected in late August. Only then will authorities know if the body belongs to Charles Rutherford. The Michigan State Police have cautioned that the torso could be unrelated to the Stempien/Rutherford case. Several persons are missing from that general area, including a man who jumped off the Mackinac Bridge. If DNA tests peg the corpse as Chuck's, they will put an end to rumors that he's alive and on the run.

If that torso belongs to another missing person, perhaps still another body part found less than two weeks ago will be identified as Chuck's—a foot that belongs to a man Rutherford's age.

http://womenincrimeink.blogspot.com/search/label/Charles%20Rutherford

[Harmony]

Monday, August 11, 2008



http://womenincrimeink.blogspot.com/search/label/Charles%20Rutherford

DNA results expected late August and here we are October and no word. :0009:

[Audie]

dna results expected late august and here we are october and no word. :0009::0009:

[Nut44x4]

And here we are in Jan. 09' and still no word that I can find. Anyone else??

[packy]

No I see this site and SM when I checked. It would seem they should have some news about those remains by now.

[mattsmillion]

No I see this site and SM when I checked. It would seem they should have some news about those remains by now.

Any new information on this case? I just watched it on Dateline and I was wondering.

[Jess]

Seriously, nothing????!!

[Audie]

Seriously, nothing????!!Nada that I can find. I want to call up there to find out but they might consider me a suspect,lol.

[nomadpatti]

Nada that I can find. I want to call up there to find out but they might consider me a suspect,lol.

We can't have that Audie!
I just shot off an Email to Mike Fornes, staff writer at the newspaper. He seemed to be the one following the story when it first came out. Figured it wouldn't hurt. :shrug1:
Let you know if I hear back. :yes2:

[Audie]

We can't have that Audie!
I just shot off an Email to Mike Fornes, staff writer at the newspaper. He seemed to be the one following the story when it first came out. Figured it wouldn't hurt. :shrug1:
Let you know if I hear back. :yes2:Did Mike Fornes ever answer you email, Patti?

[Nut44x4]

WOOT WOOT.......INFO! Finally!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Body parts aren't from missing Grosse Pointe Farms lawyer

State police today announced a torso and foot discovered last year along the Lake Huron shoreline are not that of missing Grosse Pointe Farms lawyer Charles Rutherford Jr.

Police say the body parts were compared to DNA from Rutherford's relatives and it did not produce a match.

Rutherford, then 34, went missing with his girlfriend, Lana Stempien, 35, also a Grosse Pointe Farms lawyer, during a boating trip from Belle River, Ontario, to Mackinac Island on Aug. 11, 2005.

The couple's boat was found the next day, idling south of Marquette Island, with its GPS system on and life jackets on board.

Two weeks later, Stempien's body was found near Hammond Bay.

A year later, a judge declared Rutherford legally dead.

Police say the torso was found in Benton Township in Cheboygan County on May 26, 2008, and the foot was found in Ocqueoc Township in Presque Ile County on July 28.

The remains were shipped to the University of North Texas lab, where they were matched to the same unknown individual.

Police said the DNA also failed to match that of Henry Stauffer, 56, of Washington, D.C., who was a passenger in an airplane that crashed in the straits area on Aug. 24, 2007.

Police say Michigan State University Forensic Anthropologist Norma Sauer produced a biological profile that suggests the remains belong to a male between the ages of 30 and 60. He was approximately 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9 and the foot was found inside a sock, which was inside a size 10 Reebok sandal. The sandal was manufactured in 1997 and introduced to the market in 1998.

From here, investigators say they will continue to submit DNA samples from family of missing persons in northern Lake Huron and Lake Michigan areas.

Anyone with possible leads is asked to contact Michigan State Police in Cheboygan at (231) 627-9973 or Alpena at (989) 354-4101.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091021/METRO01/910210411/1409/METRO#

[Nut44x4]

Could we get this moved into Who Am I??

[Nut44x4]

Thanks for moving this thread.

Remains found in 2008 still not identified
10/22/09

Cheboygan, Mich. -
Almost 17 months after human remains were discovered on the south shore of Lake Huron, the identity of the body is still a mystery, troopers from the Michigan State Police Cheboygan post announced today.

On May 26, 2008, a human torso was found in Benton Township in Cheboygan County, just east of Cheboygan.

On July 28, 2008, a human foot was found in Ocqueoc Township in Presque Isle County, approximately 15 miles northwest of Rogers City.
Analysis from the University of North Texas determined the torso and foot belonged to the same person.

Michigan State University forensic anthropologist Norman Sauer believes the remains belong to a male between the ages of 30 and 60 and between 5-foot-6 and 5-9.Local authorities were hoping the remains would help them solve two outstanding cases. Charles Rutherford Jr., 34, of Grosse Pointe, was involved in a fatal boating accident on August 11, 2005.
The empty boat was found adrift the next day and the body of one of the occupants, Lana Stempien, 35, of Grosse Pointe was found washed up on Lake Huron three miles from where the torso was discovered.
Rutherford’s body has never been recovered.
On August 24, 2007, Henry Stauffer, 56, of Washington was a passenger in a plane that crashed in the Straits Area. The body of the pilot, Karen Dodds, was discovered near the Mackinac Bridge on Oct. 8, 2007, but Stauffer’s body has never been recovered.

The DNA recovered from the body parts were compared to Rutherford and Stauffer with no match. The DNA was also compared to a national database of relatives of missing persons with no match.

Officials says there are a number of missing persons that have never been recovered from various incidents in the Straits Area in the past few years. If you have any information, please call the Michigan State Police Cheboygan post at 231-627-9973 or the Alpena post at 989-354-4101.

http://www.sooeveningnews.com/news/x826023454/Remains-found-in-2008-still-not-identified

[Roamer]

You're very welcome, Nut. You ask....I jump. :smile:

[Audie]

Finally!

I can't believe it took a year and a half to get this news to us. Sheesh.

jmo

[Audie]

You're very welcome, Nut. You ask....I jump. :smile:LOL, Roamer.

Did this info get posted on the Rutherford thread? Or is there one? It's been so long.

[Nut44x4]

DNA test links foot to torso

Tue Feb 02, 2010, 06:48 AM EST
Alpena, Mich. -
Results of DNA testing have now linked a human foot found in July 2008 on a Lake Huron Beach near Hammond Bay to a torso also found nearby in May, 2008, police say.
Now police want to compare DNA samples with those of a missing sailor who disappeared in July 1999.
The tests, conducted at a Texas laboratory that handles unidentified remains from around the world, already eliminated two high-profile cases as possible ID’s, including a Detroit lawyer who mysteriously disappeared from his girlfriend’s boat in 2005 and the passenger aboard a light plane that crashed into the South Channel of the Straits of Mackinac in 2007.

http://www.cheboygannews.com/news/x231968792/DNA-test-links-foot-to-torso