Possible Victims: Iowa

[SuziQ]

Blink, thanks for the update. One of the articles about Justin stated he was found on concrete. I assumed that it was dry, but I don't know. Interesting about the COD. I say keep him in the list until we know more.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Was it another case or am I dreaming? I thought I saw water in that culvert in some photo.

 

[Blink34]

Was it another case or am I dreaming? I thought I saw water in that culvert in some photo.

No SS,I think your correct, I believe it was his case, and IIRC, the recovery team had hip waders on.

 

[cheko1]

Family continues to search for missing 19-year-old man
By Steven Martens
Saturday, May 10, 2008


Full article: click here

Brother this doesn't sound good at all........Clinton Ia is located right on the Mississippi River. I was born & raised near Davenport lived there 36 yrs.

 

[Blink34]

Brother this doesn't sound good at all........Clinton Ia is located right on the Mississippi River. I was born & raised near Davenport lived there 36 yrs.

Anyone able to locate where his shoes were found?

 

[Grainne Dhu]

PAUL SHUMAN-MOORE, Grinnell student. Found in golf course pool 4/07 at beginning of season when pool opened up (under pool cover). ***Hands and legs bound with duct tape. Yet, suicide note found in room so ruled suicide.
http://www.dps.state.ia.us/commis/pib/Releases/2007/04-18-2007_GrinnellRelease.htm

I live outside Grinnell and helped with the search for this poor young man. It was never a search for a living person; everyone but the family was convinced from the beginning that it was a search for the body of a suicide victim.

It wasn't just the suicide note. He'd been talking about suicide and suicide methods to several people on campus in the short month he'd been there.

The search included the pool because he had mentioned to one person (I think it was his roommate but can't recall for sure) that if someone were to want to commit suicide, a pool closed for the winter might be one method.

The pool cover is *huge* and it takes a minimum of ten people working together to remove it. During the search, someone noticed a long slit in the cover and several searchers did unfasten that corner and look under it. The pool cover was worn and had a fair amount of duct tape repairs, so another slit didn't seem out of place (Iowa winters are hard on equipment).

I doubt that this poor young man was one of the murder victims, it just stretches the bounds of credibility too far. He'd talked about suicide, he'd talked about closed swimming pools as a suicide method, he left a suicide note and he was found in a swimming pool--it's hard to believe that a murderer (or group of them) would stumble across this young man and then carry out what he had already talked about.

 

[fran]

Welcome to Websleuths, Grainne Dhu!

Thank you for the information. What you say makes sense and since you were there when it happened, you should know these for facts.

I hope it didn't offend you that we included this young man's name in our list. You see we don't have the file information, just what has been in print. We know that some of them are isolated incidents, ie suicide, accident, or local person. It's just when you put the sheer volume of the cases, it seems unreasonable that this could happen, over and over and over and over, well, you see my point.

It's sad when anyone sees no alternative to their struggles but to commit suicide. It's especially sad when it is such a young person who by all appearances, had much to live for.

JMHO
fran

 

[Grainne Dhu]

I hope it didn't offend you that we included this young man's name in our list.

Oh, no, I hope I didn't give that impression! I was just hoping to clarify the situation a little.

What was being said on the ground was a bit different from what was reported in the papers. I'm sure it was difficult for the reporters because the family was so set on believing that he was lost or had taken off to go somewhere else.

Which is understandable--hope, no matter how far fetched, is easier than believing that your child decided to die.

It was a very sad situation; my impression was that he was a very likeable young man with, as you noted, everything to live for. His own mind was what was trapping him.

The other students that he'd had contact with were also victims; I'm sure they will go to their graves wondering if they should have done something or told someone. I don't think they have anything to blame themselves for because it was clear he wasn't threatening suicide, he said those things in a very detached manner. It just seemed speculative and I'm sure millions of college students have said much the same sorts of things and never had suicide in mind at all.

All in all, a tragedy.

 

[Blink34]

Oh, no, I hope I didn't give that impression! I was just hoping to clarify the situation a little.

What was being said on the ground was a bit different from what was reported in the papers. I'm sure it was difficult for the reporters because the family was so set on believing that he was lost or had taken off to go somewhere else.

Which is understandable--hope, no matter how far fetched, is easier than believing that your child decided to die.

It was a very sad situation; my impression was that he was a very likeable young man with, as you noted, everything to live for. His own mind was what was trapping him.

Well said. I have always thought this young man was a suicide, however, he fit our profile until we got info like yours, so thank you for updating us.
God Bless

 

[Blink34]

Very interested to know if Ben's shoes were found onshore, or other, and if they were tied.
If anyone knows please post.

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.kcci.com/news/22411734/detail.html

Iowa State police said Tuesday that they remain hopeful, but said a search for a missing student gets more difficult with each passing day.

Jon Lacina was last seen on Jan. 22 leaving a friend's apartment. His parent's reported him missing last Saturday.

and (even stranger it is being investigated in connection to two other missing men in the region)

Other Missing Persons Connections?


Iowa State is working with Ames police and the state Division of Criminal Investigation on a possible connection with two other missing person cases in the Midwest. Both cases involve young men around the same age as Lacina and who went missing around the same time, one is from Minnesota and the other from Wisconsin.

Sylvester McCurry, 18, was reported missing from Duluth, Min., on Jan. 17. Eric Michael Peterson, 24, was last seen in Lakeville, Min., on Jan. 19.

Investigators said it is too early to say whether there may be any connection between the cases, but investigators are looking into them and not ruling out any possibilities.

I have added Eric and Sylvester to the Min. thread as well

 

[robkat86]

Very interested to know if Ben's shoes were found onshore, or other, and if they were tied.
If anyone knows please post.

They were found on land in an alley. If I remember correctly not on the route he would have taken between the apartment and HyVee.