MI MI - Charles Rutherford, 34, & Lana Stempien (fd dec.), Aug 2005 - Detroit Boaters

[Texana]

I saw this one of the times it aired on tv, it was enthralling.

I honestly didn't know what to think...except that I feel more suspicious about Chuck--

I just wouldn't be that amazed to learn that he's not dead.

 

[angelmom]

It's also been on Dateline NBC at least three times and on MSNBC but it hasn't really generated much interest on these boards or in the public which is strange because this is about as mysterious as a case can get and it does have the attractive white woman that is mandatory for any case to get lots of national attention like Natalee Holloway, Laci Petersen, Chandra Levy, etc.!!

LOL!

I think part of the reason it isn't getting as much attention is that there isn't all that much mystery. I mean, with Natalee, Laci, and Chandra, something obviously happened to them that was NOT an accident. And here, while you obviously have a family and a group of people who think that there was some foul play and that he is living incognito on some island somewhere, I think LE and the vast majority of people would say it was an accident and they are both dead. It's sad, but it isn't any great unsolved question of life.

There are things that happen like this every day. The few people I have known in life who have died tragically in an accident have all left some unanswered questions. In each case, there are a few family members who can't let go of the idea that it wasn't a random accident, although it clearly was. I think that some people, in a complicated grief, need someone to blame, and can never accept that accidents happen in life and feel some need to hang onto this mission of finding "the real killer" because letting it rest feels like letting go of the person that they love.

 

[SadieMae]

LinasK, Rogers City is 2 hours away from Mackinac Island. So, Lana calling and saying they would be there is a couple of hours sounds right.

Your theory of a murder-suicide is a good one, and I believe it may be a possibility. I am absolutely convinced Lana did not go into that lake willingly.

Since I have been on Lake Huron many, many times, I can tell you that even if someone did dock their boat to Lana's boat, it would probably not been seen. The lake is very big and there are not many boats out there. Another possibliity I have thought of is that they met some people while docked for the night before, who may have followed them and did them harm. But, then why was Lana naked, but not sexually assaulted (as far as we know.)

I have known Lana for many years. This has caused her family a great deal of pain, as expected. I hope answers are found.

Thanks for replying!

_____________________________________________________

The above is MY opinion and I AM entitled to have one!

Hi Only4Justice. I'm very familiar with boating in that area. Did it all the time growing up. Traveled from Saginaw River to Mackinac Island, stopping at Tawas, Rogers City, Cheboygan, etc. many times. It's been a long time, but is Presque Isle near Thunder Bay? Water was always rough going through. Your are so right about the water. It's to cold sometime near the end of summer, August to swim in. In fact it's always cold! I'm trying to follow this, but I"m not clear about the bumpers. She had white, then someone blue were found on the boat? White fenders are very common, and I didn't ever see blue, unless things have changed. I'm old now...hehhehe Has anyone checked around at the marine supply stores there to see if any carried blue fenders locally? I'm seriously thinking the boater made a mistake about seeing blue bumpers if none were on the boat. Could have been a reflection off the water making them appear blue.

I agree, it doesn't make sense for only one body to wash up, not when they were in the water around the same time and close proximity to each other.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

Haven't there been any updates in this case? It does seem strange that Lana disappeared in the area that Chuck's parents were.

This case is probably the most mysterious case in the U.S. in recent memory (last 3 years) so I'm suprised it hasn't gotten more posts on here.

It's at least as mysterious if not more mysterious than the Jennifer Kesse case yet that thread gets a lot more posts.

 

[Enrique Sparta]

I think something that is very important, the night following the last time anybody heard from Lana and Chuck, somebody in the night evidently tampered with the GPS system? The law enforcement tried to say this was standard and it just reset itself? I was under the impression that somebody went on to that boat and purposely deleted the location of the boat for that day for certain hours. Was there any definite answer on that?

 

[Enrique Sparta]

I think part of the reason it isn't getting as much attention is that there isn't all that much mystery. I mean, with Natalee, Laci, and Chandra, something obviously happened to them that was NOT an accident. And here, while you obviously have a family and a group of people who think that there was some foul play and that he is living incognito on some island somewhere, I think LE and the vast majority of people would say it was an accident and they are both dead. It's sad, but it isn't any great unsolved question of life.

There are things that happen like this every day. The few people I have known in life who have died tragically in an accident have all left some unanswered questions. In each case, there are a few family members who can't let go of the idea that it wasn't a random accident, although it clearly was. I think that some people, in a complicated grief, need someone to blame, and can never accept that accidents happen in life and feel some need to hang onto this mission of finding "the real killer" because letting it rest feels like letting go of the person that they love.

yes angelmom, very good post. You're absolutely correct in that most people don't consider this to be much of a mystery. probably an accident. Chuck's body not being found does not really mean anything, it's a huge body of water.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

yes angelmom, very good post. You're absolutely correct in that most people don't consider this to be much of a mystery. probably an accident. Chuck's body not being found does not really mean anything, it's a huge body of water.

But so many things point to this NOT being an accident. Why was the boat's ladder UP if they had gone DOWN to the water to swim? The water was much too cold to go swimming much less skinny dipping yet Lana was found nude. Why didn't Lana take of her jewelry like she always did before she went swimming? Why was Lana found nude when she never went skinny dipping in that lake before?

What about those different colored boat bumpers that were spotted by a witness? Why was there Carbon Dioxide in Lana's system? WHY was the GPS erased if it was JUST an accident??

Too many things are out of the ordinary which indicate this was not an accident and someone else was involved.

 

[angelmom]

But so many things point to this NOT being an accident. Why was the boat's ladder UP if they had gone DOWN to the water to swim? The water was much too cold to go swimming much less skinny dipping yet Lana was found nude. Why didn't Lana take of her jewelry like she always did before she went swimming? Why was Lana found nude when she never went skinny dipping in that lake before?

What about those different colored boat bumpers that were spotted by a witness? Why was there Carbon Dioxide in Lana's system? WHY was the GPS erased if it was JUST an accident??

Too many things are out of the ordinary which indicate this was not an accident and someone else was involved.

My post http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1451386&postcount=40 was pure speculation but answered all of these questions. There are probably lots of other possibilities I didn't even think of.

I think LE finally concluded that these answers (or something similar) was much more likely than the idea that this was the perfect murder and that the guy is living out the rest of his life incognito somewhere, and NO ONE has spilled the beans. He would have had to have some help of some kind somewhere along the way, and I just don't believe people keep secrets for that long.

 

[Enrique Sparta]

But so many things point to this NOT being an accident. Why was the boat's ladder UP if they had gone DOWN to the water to swim? The water was much too cold to go swimming much less skinny dipping yet Lana was found nude. Why didn't Lana take of her jewelry like she always did before she went swimming? Why was Lana found nude when she never went skinny dipping in that lake before?

What about those different colored boat bumpers that were spotted by a witness? Why was there Carbon Dioxide in Lana's system? WHY was the GPS erased if it was JUST an accident??

Too many things are out of the ordinary which indicate this was not an accident and someone else was involved.

Well it's possible they didn't go swimming but something happened where one went into the water (by force or by accident) and the other went in to save them in a panic. The ladder being up does not eliminate the possibility of accident. It does make the "let's go for a swim" extremely unlikely.

Also Lana had her jewelry on. That right there tells you she did not intend to go in the water. But again it doesn't eliminate accident.

the GPS thing is important. i'd like to hear from somebody who knows....would somebody have to deliberately delete the information? Or was there just certain sections of the trip that were deleted? How does it work? If it re-set itself, wouldn't all data be lost? What was found on the GPS when the cops searched? How often does the GPS just re-set itself?

what are we implying here regarding the GPS? that somebody came back to the boat in the middle of the night to delete the information? why would whoever did that not just do it as they were leaving the boat? why come back? doesn't make much sense.

 

[Myserty64]

Since my earlier post I have re-read as much as there is available on this sad case and I have also read a lot of different people's opinions.

In MHO it was an an accident.

On of the two people, whether by the boat hitting a freak wave or simply falling overboard, found themselves in the lake.

The person still on the boat went to their assistance and by some means wound up in the water too.

With the swimming ladder in the up position it was impossible to get back on board and hypothermia or exhaustion or a combination of both resulted in drowning.

 

[CyberLaw]

I guess I am a of a different opinion, I feel that another person was involved. Was it murder by BF or others, I can't say, but I do feel that this is not an accident.

 

[Masterj]

I guess I am a of a different opinion, I feel that another person was involved. Was it murder by BF or others, I can't say, but I do feel that this is not an accident.

I don't feel it was an accident either.

 

[Tristan]

This is one of the most mysterious cases I have ever heard of.
I absolutely do not believe this was an accident, especially since Lana
was an excellent boater and swimmer. She knew the waters of Lake Huron
inside and out.
There are just too many unanswered questions, such as:

Why were her boyfriend's parents in such a hurry to have him declared legally dead?

Why was Lana naked and wearing her jewelry?

Why was the GPS mysteriously erased?

I think the boyfriend killed her and had someone in another boat hitch up
to theirs (hence the different colored bumpers) and take him somewhere to
start a new life. He certainly had the money to do so.

The idea of someone on another boat randomly killing them just doesn't make any sense, especially since they didn't take Lana's expensive jewelry.
Also, as someone mentioned, there are not a lot of boats on that lake.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

Since my earlier post I have re-read as much as there is available on this sad case and I have also read a lot of different people's opinions.

In MHO it was an an accident.

On of the two people, whether by the boat hitting a freak wave or simply falling overboard, found themselves in the lake.

The person still on the boat went to their assistance and by some means wound up in the water too.

With the swimming ladder in the up position it was impossible to get back on board and hypothermia or exhaustion or a combination of both resulted in drowning.

That doesn't make sense since even if one of the fell into the water it would only take a few seconds to drop the ladder down and go and get them especially since they knew that if they didn't drop the ladder down they couldn't get back in the boat.

The drunk scenario doesn't make sense since Lana was an expert navigator and obviously knows what it's like to be drunk since she was a regular drinker so she would have the foresight to know what to do even if she was inebriated.

I agree with the poster who said this is one of the most mysterious cases ever and I'm suprised it hasn't gotten hardly any attention at all except for the Dateline special which has ran several times.

They really need to find Chuck to get more answers.

 

[Maybe So]

Actually I think it could have been an accident.

Perhaps both suffered from Carbon Monoxide poisoning from the boats engines?

It could explain the wierd parts of the scenario. Carbon Monoxide will cause lack of judgement and behavior much like intoxication. If you are already drinking alchohol then doubly so.

Lana's clothes could be missing because she took them off herself.

You are told to remove clothes and shoes if you are in the water as they will weigh you down. Many survival guides will tell you to try to take of clothing and fill your clothing with air to help you float. She may have done this. So, if she fell in then she may have removed her clothing in the water...or, if she decided to jump in for a swim (because of lack of judgement) or maybe she went in to save Chuck then she may have left her clothes on the boat to prevent them from weighing her down.

I would say that at some point she stood up on the controls and got that knob in her shoe. Perhaps trying to get up higher to see down into the water because the more intoxicated Chuck has fallen overboard first?

If he threw her into the water I would think she would be beaten and brused looking from fighting him off and fighting to get back on the boat.

Blue bumpers are probaby just a red herring.

His parents being in the area doesn't raise any flags for me. Perhaps that is why he chose that area...maybe family often spent time at this particular area.

Just my best guess from what I read. Could be something totally different happened.

 

[s_finch]

This is one of the most mysterious cases I have ever heard of.
I absolutely do not believe this was an accident, especially since Lana
was an excellent boater and swimmer. She knew the waters of Lake Huron
inside and out.
There are just too many unanswered questions, such as:

Why were her boyfriend's parents in such a hurry to have him declared legally dead?

Why was Lana naked and wearing her jewelry?

Why was the GPS mysteriously erased?

I think the boyfriend killed her and had someone in another boat hitch up
to theirs (hence the different colored bumpers) and take him somewhere to
start a new life. He certainly had the money to do so.

The idea of someone on another boat randomly killing them just doesn't make any sense, especially since they didn't take Lana's expensive jewelry.
Also, as someone mentioned, there are not a lot of boats on that lake.

All those reasons plus the knob in the bottom of her shoe make me suspicious! Also, didn't I read the Chuck's parents refused to let Lana's parents into Chuck's apartment?

 

[UM&AMWfan]

All those reasons plus the knob in the bottom of her shoe make me suspicious! Also, didn't I read the Chuck's parents refused to let Lana's parents into Chuck's apartment?

I never heard that before. Where did you read that?

Also, the Carbon Monoxide poisoning would have been most likely occur when they were ALREADY in the water as the showed on Dateline NBC. The CM exhaust is down below so it is very unlikely it would have affected them while they were up above. It seems once they fell in the water then they would've inhaled the CM,

So, it is not very realistic that they got CM poisoning when they were up above plus don't forget many family members had been on this boat for years and it had never given any problem. Even if there was CM poisining it's not like they were in an enclosed house since they would been outside where it would have more difficult for the CM to overcome them.

 

[s_finch]

"Lana's torn shoe
He believes one of the most intriguing clues is Lana’s size 8 ½ New Balance running shoe, found lying on her boat with a knob from the boat’s GPS bracket strangely wedged in the sole.

Cote: If you took a hammer and tried to pound that in, you would have difficulty doing that.
Swanson: That was very odd. The Coast Guard told us that the only way that the knob could have been embedded in her shoe was with force.
Hansen: Does that indicate to you that there was some sort of struggle on board this boat?
Swanson: That there was something.
Cote: Something out of the ordinary?
Swanson: Something out of the ordinary, something happened.
​

Cote also points to a suspiciously large tear in the back of the same shoe as one more hint of a violent struggle."


The above quoted section is from Dateline article locacted at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10807318/page/3/

Seems like there might be a picture of the shoe on the web somewhere, I'm not sure though.

 

[Columbo]

This is one of the most mysterious cases I have ever heard of.
I absolutely do not believe this was an accident, especially since Lana
was an excellent boater and swimmer. She knew the waters of Lake Huron
inside and out.
There are just too many unanswered questions, such as:

Why were her boyfriend's parents in such a hurry to have him declared legally dead?

Why was Lana naked and wearing her jewelry?

Why was the GPS mysteriously erased?

I think the boyfriend killed her and had someone in another boat hitch up
to theirs (hence the different colored bumpers) and take him somewhere to
start a new life. He certainly had the money to do so.

The idea of someone on another boat randomly killing them just doesn't make any sense, especially since they didn't take Lana's expensive jewelry.
Also, as someone mentioned, there are not a lot of boats on that lake.

Tristan, I agree with you.

 

[Amraann]

But so many things point to this NOT being an accident. Why was the boat's ladder UP if they had gone DOWN to the water to swim? The water was much too cold to go swimming much less skinny dipping yet Lana was found nude. Why didn't Lana take of her jewelry like she always did before she went swimming? Why was Lana found nude when she never went skinny dipping in that lake before?

What about those different colored boat bumpers that were spotted by a witness? Why was there Carbon Dioxide in Lana's system? WHY was the GPS erased if it was JUST an accident??

Too many things are out of the ordinary which indicate this was not an accident and someone else was involved.

If someone fell off the boat and the other jumped in to save them they would not have the ladder down.
The carbon monoxide could easily be from the boat exhaust if they were trying to get back onto the boat.
The GPS could have been erased by Lana on accident and the witness could have been mistaken.