IL IL - Lee Cutler, 18, Buffalo Grove, Oct 2007

I was wondering if there were any new developments like from the private investigator? Having been to Baraboo several times, it seems like there are a lot places to disappear at. I know Devil's Lake is probably the most popular in the Baraboo area, was anything searched at Mirror Lake or the wildlife recreation area?
 
Hi,

I know that this is probably new news but I contacted the Buffalo Grove Police Department. Their reply was that the case is still open and are accepting leads. They are still in contact with the Cutler family. Also, the area where Lee's car was found was thoroughly searched. Just wanted to let all of you know. Not exactly sure if it was appropriate to copy and paste the reply so I gave an overview. I don't know how to cite an email either. Sorry if this is a total newbie thing.
 
Buffalo Grove born and raised here and went to the same high school as Lee. We never met due to my school having over 4,000 kids. However, despite his already fragile mental state.. part of me always wonders if our High Schools severe push to go off to college made him confused or worried about his future so he ran as an escape from those thoughts. I don't want to blame my school for his disappearance but they did put A LOT of pressure on us to succeed. Those are just my thoughts though.. its so bizarre that nobody has found any clue of what happened to him all of these years later.
 
Season 1 episode 5 on Investigation Discovery Show Disappeared "A Lost Soul" portrays Lee's disappearance. I am re-watching today. Thinking of family & friends.
 
Just started watching the Disappeared series for the first time, and saw the LC episode. Very tragic. However, I don't see this being as much of a mystery as they're making it out to be in the episode.

I have read the "Into the Wild" non-fiction book about the young man (Chris McCandless) wanting to live away from society. CM ultimately died in the somewhat remote wilderness of Alaska after eating a poisonous plant - probably unintentionally, by all accounts.

Since LC was a fan of the book & also appeared to be suffering from depression, it seems evident that he was emulating what happened in the book to some extent by leaving his family & moving out to the woods in a somewhat remote area (but not that remote), etc.

As far as what happened to him, I strongly suspect he probably passed in the general area where his clothes/belongings were found. As to why his body hasn't been found, it's very possible he went into the near-by river, drowned, and was swept away by the current. If that were the case, he wouldn't have necessarily been found in that specific area.

An other possibility is that he passed in the woods, and was then dragged off by animals, etc. - that could also explain why he wasn't found.

Lastly, even though there was an extensive search of the area - IMHO it's also possible he was missed.

I don't believe he went overseas to "start a new life" - as was suggested by the episode. If that were the case, he would have needed money, a passport, etc. Also. he would have had to buy a plane ticket & there would be some kind of "trail" at airports & other places, etc. And, if he were still alive I don't think he would have left for this long without at least contacting his family at some point - which obviously never happened.
 
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True Crime All the Time Podcast just released an episode about Lee's Disappearance.

 
Just started watching the Disappeared series for the first time, and saw the LC episode. Very tragic. However, I don't see this being as much of a mystery as they're making it out to be in the episode.

I have read the "Into the Wild" non-fiction book about the young man (Chris McCandless) wanting to live away from society. CM ultimately died in the somewhat remote wilderness of Alaska after eating a poisonous plant - probably unintentionally, by all accounts.

Since LC was a fan of the book & also appeared to be suffering from depression, it seems evident that he was emulating what happened in the book to some extent by leaving his family & moving out to the woods in a somewhat remote area (but not that remote), etc.

As far as what happened to him, I strongly suspect he probably passed in the general area where his clothes/belongings were found. As to why his body hasn't been found, it's very possible he went into the near-by river, drowned, and was swept away by the current. If that were the case, he wouldn't have necessarily been found in that specific area.

An other possibility is that he passed in the woods, and was then dragged off by animals, etc. - that could also explain why he wasn't found.

Lastly, even though there was an extensive search of the area - IMHO it's also possible he was missed.

I don't believe he went overseas to "start a new life" - as was suggested by the episode. If that were the case, he would have needed money, a passport, etc. Also. he would have had to buy a plane ticket & there would be some kind of "trail" at airports & other places, etc. And, if he were still alive I don't think he would have left for this long without at least contacting his family at some point - which obviously never happened.
I am unsure how much of a fan Lee was of the book to be quite honest. The book is part of our reading curriculum at Stevenson. Lee would've been class of 2007. I was class of 2012. I also had to read the book for English class. So part of me wonders if it was just in the car because we had to read it or in the car because he actually liked the book and felt a connection with it. Just some thoughts I had as someone who also went to the same Highschool as Lee.
 

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