Found Deceased MO - Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, Monroe Co, 12 Nov 2018

[Ilive4mycats]

Hello All--
I rarely post here, but this case (and the missing 49er fan) have brought be back today. My mom and I were discussing this today and she brought up a point I thought was worth sharing. She thought that if Ms. Stroik had intended to commit suicide, it seems unlikely that she'd do it by walking into the lake when she could drive into it.

 

[Indyannie]

Perhaps she wanted someone to benefit from her vehicle in the event she chose to end her life...

 

[tiffkinsadder]

Heartbreaking

 

[Breezie]

Obituary for Raffaella Maria Stroik | Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.

Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, of St. Louis, MO (formerly of South Bend, IN) died by accident on November 14, 2018 as she was walking along the lake at Mark Twain State Park near Florida, MO where she went on a private retreat. It was a park that she had visited a number of years ago.

Raffaella was fearless and adventurous. She liked to swim in the ocean, surf, and hike the lakes at Notre Dame. She took pleasure in travelling to New York and Rome and other great cities where she could experience great art and interact with people. Raffaella also loved to go into nature to hike and to pray and to make spiritual retreats.

 

[cybervampira]

Obituary for Raffaella Maria Stroik | Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.

Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, of St. Louis, MO (formerly of South Bend, IN) died by accident on November 14, 2018 as she was walking along the lake at Mark Twain State Park near Florida, MO where she went on a private retreat. It was a park that she had visited a number of years ago.

Raffaella was fearless and adventurous. She liked to swim in the ocean, surf, and hike the lakes at Notre Dame. She took pleasure in travelling to New York and Rome and other great cities where she could experience great art and interact with people. Raffaella also loved to go into nature to hike and to pray and to make spiritual retreats.

Sounds to me they are taking comfort in believing she had an accident. If this was no accident (which I assume), she had probably planned it that way.

Rest easy, Raffaella!

 

[Breezie]

I live about 10 miles from where her vehicle was found. I can tell you that on Monday it was snowing, sleeting, freezing cold and the wind was blowing so she most certainly wasn't going there to hike, sight see or picnic. Whatever happened to her was intentional either on her part or someone elses part. This boat ramp is not easy to find and is not off of a "major" highway. In fact is is off of a 2 lane highway, then a blacktop road that then leads to another road that leads to the boat ramp. It is a boat ramp only....no boats are docked here. Someone would need to know where it is located to find it. I live about 10 miles from there and would have to ask my husband how to get there and I have lived here for 26 years. She was closer to/likely drove past a different boat ramp and the damn of the lake where she could have entered the water. I know they are saying no foul play is suspected at this point but I don't believe that for a minute.....oh, and to whoever suggested an abductor may have called a taxi or uber.......ummmm, NO!!!! LOL Sorry but those things don't exist for at least 30 miles from the location of her vehicle.

Mark Twain State Park | Missouri State Parks

Nestled in the Salt River Hills of north-central Missouri, Mark Twain State Park gives visitors access to sprawling Mark Twain Lake, as well as unparalleled outdoors activities. The terrain is covered by bluffs overlooking the lake and stands of oak, hickory and maple that are filled with white-tailed deer, turkey and other wildlife. Numerous picnic areas, two four-lane boat ramps and more than six miles of hiking trails with lake views offer something for everyone.

The terrain around the lake is described as being covered by bluffs. The weather may have changed while she was there. It is possible an unfortunate combination of bad weather and rugged terrain may have caused an accident.

There might not be official results, yet, but her family was probably given more information than what was released to the public.

 

[cybervampira]

Mark Twain State Park | Missouri State Parks

Nestled in the Salt River Hills of north-central Missouri, Mark Twain State Park gives visitors access to sprawling Mark Twain Lake, as well as unparalleled outdoors activities. The terrain is covered by bluffs overlooking the lake and stands of oak, hickory and maple that are filled with white-tailed deer, turkey and other wildlife. Numerous picnic areas, two four-lane boat ramps and more than six miles of hiking trails with lake views offer something for everyone.

The terrain around the lake is described as being covered by bluffs. The weather must have changed while she was there. It sounds like an unfortunate combination of bad weather and rugged terrain may have caused her accident.

This is the boat ramp:
107 Boat Ramp
Mark Twain Lake, Stoutsville, MO 65283, USA
Google Maps

No bluffs here. Not saying it wasn’t an accident but taking a hike with that kind of weather, placing the car key the way she did... rather smells like self-harm to me.

Whatever it was, may she rest in peace.

 

[Breezie]

This is the boat ramp:
107 Boat Ramp
Mark Twain Lake, Stoutsville, MO 65283, USA
Google Maps

No bluffs here. Not saying it wasn’t an accident but taking a hike with that kind of weather, placing the car key the way she did... rather smells like self-harm to me.

Whatever it was, may she rest in peace.

Body of missing St. Louis ballerina Raffaella Maria Stroik found in Mark Twain Lake

On Tuesday, a Missouri State Trooper saw Stroik’s car locked and still in the parking lot of the Mark Twain Lake State Park Highway 107 boat ramp.

Stroik’s body was discovered on the other side of the lake on Wednesday morning. The investigation was ongoing, Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement.

She was found on the other side of the lake where the terrain may have been more rugged. She either hiked there or drifted all the way across the lake.

 

[cybervampira]

Body of missing St. Louis ballerina Raffaella Maria Stroik found in Mark Twain Lake

On Tuesday, a Missouri State Trooper saw Stroik’s car locked and still in the parking lot of the Mark Twain Lake State Park Highway 107 boat ramp.

Stroik’s body was discovered on the other side of the lake on Wednesday morning. The investigation was ongoing, Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement.

She was found on the other side of the lake where the terrain may have been more rugged. She either hiked there or drifted all the way across the lake.

Hiking in snowy weather without taking her cell phone? Why did she place the keys outside the car? Why leave the cell phone inside?

Stroik’s personal belongings, including her cell phone, were found inside the vehicle but her keys were found outside.

“Her keys were found lying outside the vehicle,” MSHP Sgt. Eric Brown said. “They appeared to have been intentionally placed in a certain spot on the vehicle.”

 

[Breezie]

Funeral website indicates 23-year-old former local ballerina died by accident

There was an earlier post, from jash, that mentioned some people will leave a car key on a tire. It is more common for boaters, surfers and swimmers to do this. She liked to swim and surf so she may have left a key on a tire before.

Obituary for Raffaella Maria Stroik | Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.

Raffaella was fearless and adventurous. She liked to swim in the ocean, surf, and hike the lakes at Notre Dame.


The cell phone might have been useful if there was reception and it had enough charge.

 

[cybervampira]

No cause of death released yet for ballet dancer from South Bend

The cause of death has not been released for Raffaella Stroik, a ballet dancer from South Bend whose body was found last week in a rural Missouri lake, and the case may remain open for several weeks.

A medical examiner is handling the case, but a cause of death will not be publicly released while the police investigation is still open, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric Brown said Monday.

An autopsy was performed late last week, but the medical examiner is awaiting toxicology results in seven to 10 days, an employee in the Boone County medical examiner’s office said Monday.

[...]

 

[LeeAnnB]

I can only imagine the pain this young woman was in to believe that to continue living was a worse option than death. Particularly if she does in fact believe Catholic teachings that Suicide =equals going to hell. Ugh. Poor girl.

 

[momof2wats]

Local newspaper article published today. Being a local I have heard a somewhat reliable "rumor" so I wouldn't be surprised if there are some major developments in this case in the near future. I don't want to share too much in the event that the info I was told is correct.
Lake Gazette, MO, Local News, National News, Local Sports, National Sports, St Louis Cardinals, Rams, Mark Twain

 

[MissMalowe]

Local newspaper article published today. Being a local I have heard a somewhat reliable "rumor" so I wouldn't be surprised if there are some major developments in this case in the near future. I don't want to share too much in the event that the info I was told is correct.
Lake Gazette, MO, Local News, National News, Local Sports, National Sports, St Louis Cardinals, Rams, Mark Twain

The article says her grocery items we're still in the car, that doesn't sound to me like something someone who is planning to take their life would do. Buy groceries, even though you aren't going home again ever?

 

[holtzmann]

The weather was absolutely abysmal that day - if it was an accidental fall, I can't understand the logic of taking a nature walk in miserable winds and snow. Definitely interested in seeing what develops.

 

[cybervampira]

The article says her grocery items we're still in the car, that doesn't sound to me like something someone who is planning to take their life would do. Buy groceries, even though you aren't going home again ever?

Unless she wanted to make it look like an accident. I remember pharmacist Alvin Ahmed who staged his suicide to make it look like murder. The groceries he had just purchased were also left in his car.

Found Deceased - GA - Alvin Rowson Ahmed, 25, Loganville, 16 Jul 2018

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

While I have seen nothing whatsoever to suggest there is a connection between Raffaella‘s death and this absolutely horrific crime that took place in a St. Louis suburb on Monday, due to the fact that it took place at a Catholic supply store and its proximity to the Whole Foods location where she was last seen alive, the story caught my attention:

“ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A 53-year-old Jefferson County man with no significant criminal record has been charged with 17 crimes in the sexual assault of two women and the killing of a third at a Catholic Supply store on Manchester Road on Monday.

Thomas Bruce, of Geranium Drive in the Antonia area, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and multiple counts of sodomy, armed criminal action, kidnapping, burglary and tampering with evidence. He is being held without bail.

[SBM]

[St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch] said police did not know why Bruce had targeted the store. ‘It seems to me that a guy like this saw an opportunity,’ McCulloch said. ‘There were three women in the store alone.’

McCulloch also said that investigators had found no criminal history for Bruce.

[SBM]

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department authorities said that deputies had not received any calls for service to Bruce’s home and that he had never been in their custody.

A neighbor said Bruce lived in the trailer with his wife. The neighbor, Kathy Schroeder, said she awoke Wednesday morning to about 100 police officers in her neighborhood. She watched officers carry several boxes out of Bruce’s home, and the skirts around the base of the trailer were removed as part of the search.

[SBM]

McCulloch and [St. Louis County Police Chief Jon] Belmar said the public responded to the police department’s plea for help in cracking the case by supplying hundreds of tips. They said evidence was still being tested and detectives continued to investigate whether Bruce might be linked to crimes elsewhere.’”
Jefferson County man charged with murder, sex crimes in Catholic Supply store attack

It is a seven-minute (3.3 mi.) drive from where Raffaella was last seen alive (“Stroik was last seen at a Whole Foods Grocery Store in Town and Country, MO at 10:30 a.m. on November 12) to Catholic Supply Store’s Manchester RD location:
Google Maps

As November 12th was a Monday, CSS would have been open by 9 a.m. unless they were closed in observance of Veteran’s Day. It may also be worth noting that the murder at CSS took place on a Monday as well.

Could it be that Raffaella stopped by Catholic Supply Store, where Thomas Bruce perhaps happened to be, he followed to Whole Foods and kidnapped her as she came out of the store? Or could she have gone to CSS after her trip to WF?

It’s definitely unlikely, as LE has maintained all along that no foul play is suspected in Raffaella’s death, but as neither COD or MOD has been released in the case, it is a possibility, IMO.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

While unrelated to Raffaella‘s case, I thought I will go ahead and post this in case anyone is interested. This is from the St. Louis Dispatch article I posted above:

“The description police sent out just after the Catholic Supply shooting seemed similar to the description of a man wanted in the slayings of two girls, Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” Rose German, 14, both from Delphi, Ind., in February 2017.

Indiana State Police still are working that case.

‘We’re aware of the similarities and we’ve been in contact with authorities there in St. Louis County,’ said First Sgt. Jerry Holeman, who leads the investigation for the Indiana State Police. ‘But it is way too early to tell if this is the same’ person, Holeman said.

Indiana authorities have distributed a photograph of a potential suspect in the Delphi case — a white male wearing blue jeans, a blue coat/jacket and a hoodie — who was seen near the trail where the girls’ bodies were found. They also distributed a sketch.”
Jefferson County man charged with murder, sex crimes in Catholic Supply store attack

 

[fridaybaker]

Nothing new on this case, apparently. However, I must have overlooked the obituary a few weeks ago stating that she "died by accident" while on a "private retreat" and walking around the lake (which she DID have a connection with -she'd visited it as a child).

I guess this is certainly a possibility, but what could the accident have been? Slipped, caught off-balance, etc. and fell into the lake? There are three possibilities that I can think of which would prevent her from simply getting back out again (and she was a good swimmer, now we know). Those would be that either she was walking along a part of the lake that had a long, "unclimb-able" drop to the water, or that she'd hit her head on the way down, or that she suffered some other medical problem which incapacitated her to a point such that she wasn't able to swim, climb, etc.

I think the first would be something we would have heard of as a possibility, should LE/family considered it possible. The second possibility, that she hit her head, could certainly have been something that wouldn't necessarily have been noted before an autopsy, although I'd think it more likely than not that there would be some indication of such.

Now, the third possibility: She had a "medical event" that precluded her from swimming, getting back out of the lake. This could have simply been a freak event, such as a heart attack, stroke, etc. Or, did I read somewhere that she had asthma? And, if not, doesn't everybody? Okay, hyperbole here, but so many, many people have asthma these days. Could she have fallen and the cold water triggered a severe asthma attack, rendering her unable to swim? Actually, very cold water can have a stunning effect on even a "normal" persons breathing capacity ("cold water shock").

Just thinking here, but I wonder if anyone else has any ideas?

And another note on the car keys: Apparently, they were placed on the top of the front tire, therefore, were deliberately placed. So, why would she do this? There are only two reasons that I can think of: She didn't want to carry them with her (Why not? No jacket pocket? Wouldn't she have been wearing a jacket? Hmmm.) or, she left them for someone else to find, meaning that she knew she would not be returning. Any thoughts or other ideas on this?

RIP Raffaella.

 

[cybervampira]

Nothing new on this case, apparently. However, I must have overlooked the obituary a few weeks ago stating that she "died by accident" while on a "private retreat" and walking around the lake (which she DID have a connection with -she'd visited it as a child).

I guess this is certainly a possibility, but what could the accident have been? Slipped, caught off-balance, etc. and fell into the lake? There are three possibilities that I can think of which would prevent her from simply getting back out again (and she was a good swimmer, now we know). Those would be that either she was walking along a part of the lake that had a long, "unclimb-able" drop to the water, or that she'd hit her head on the way down, or that she suffered some other medical problem which incapacitated her to a point such that she wasn't able to swim, climb, etc.

I think the first would be something we would have heard of as a possibility, should LE/family considered it possible. The second possibility, that she hit her head, could certainly have been something that wouldn't necessarily have been noted before an autopsy, although I'd think it more likely than not that there would be some indication of such.

Now, the third possibility: She had a "medical event" that precluded her from swimming, getting back out of the lake. This could have simply been a freak event, such as a heart attack, stroke, etc. Or, did I read somewhere that she had asthma? And, if not, doesn't everybody? Okay, hyperbole here, but so many, many people have asthma these days. Could she have fallen and the cold water triggered a severe asthma attack, rendering her unable to swim? Actually, very cold water can have a stunning effect on even a "normal" persons breathing capacity ("cold water shock").

Just thinking here, but I wonder if anyone else has any ideas?

And another note on the car keys: Apparently, they were placed on the top of the front tire, therefore, were deliberately placed. So, why would she do this? There are only two reasons that I can think of: She didn't want to carry them with her (Why not? No jacket pocket? Wouldn't she have been wearing a jacket? Hmmm.) or, she left them for someone else to find, meaning that she knew she would not be returning. Any thoughts or other ideas on this?

RIP Raffaella.

The obituary mentions accident as COD before official autopsy results are released?

In an obituary posted on the Kaniewski funeral home website in South Bend, it indicates that she died by accident.

However, as of late Friday we had not gotten any official autopsy results out of Missouri.

Knowing her family is deeply religious, I suspect the accident theory gives them peace of mind. I think suicide is the most probable COD.