Update on Charles Rutherford/Body found near Lake Huron
scooter34
WXYZ TV 7
A lot of people have been asking me if there is any new information
about the human remains that were found along Lake Huron in Cheboygan
County on Memorial Day. The Michigan State Police are currently
conducting DNA tests to determine the identity of the remains.
You’ll recall that two lawyers from Grosse Pointe Farms disappeared
during a boating trip in August of 2005. Lana Stempien’s body was
found a few weeks later, but her boyfriend - Chuck Rutherford Jr. is
still missing.
The state police tell me that it’s going to take several months to
complete the DNA testing. But here’s what the police know so far:
The remains could be from a man who was anywhere from 30 to 60 years
old. The man’s approximate height was anywhere from 5’6” to 5’10” -
but they are not ruling out men who might have been taller than that.
Chuck Rutherford Jr. isn’t the only person that state police are
comparing DNA with - 3 men went into the water in 2007 in separate
incidents, so the remains will be tested to see if they match any of
them.
As soon as the police have some more concrete information, we’ll be
sure to pass it along to you.
tiny dancer
"scooter34" <momofpe...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:54eef8e4-70f1-49e8...@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
6/17/08
WXYZ TV 7
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Thanks for the update. Seems like a long time for DNA, doesn't it? IIRC,
wasn't Rutherford quite tall?
td
tiny dancer
"scooter34" <momofpe...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:54eef8e4-70f1-49e8...@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
WXYZ TV 7
================================================
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
scooter34
wrote:
> "scooter34" <momofpeanut...@netscape.net> wrote in message
We're really backlogged on DNA in Michigan due to budget cuts.
However, what I find most interesting is that it's possible the head
is missing, as they could certainly do a dental comparison and
determine identity much sooner. I would assume that at least two of
the missing, the lawyer and the pilot, have up-to-date dental records
on file.
scooter34
tiny dancer
scooter34
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I'd imagine if the lake coughed it up, it's probably just a torso, wouldn't
you think? Heads aren't attached to the body very securely.
td