Police are confirming the body recovered on May 30 in Lake Ontario is missing York University student, Shane Fair. The 19-year-old was at a formal dinner on May 16 when he failed to board the buses returning to campus.
“The family of Shane Fair would like to thank the public interest and support during this difficult time, and has kindly asked for their privacy,” investigators said in a written press release.
Initially, there were reports that Shane was spotted walking several blocks from the waterfront restaurant. Click here to read more about Shane’s disappearance. There was also speculation that he may have been walking to his mother’s house. However, the location where his body was found was just steps from the restaurant. Police have not revealed any more information about how Shane died.
Shane is the second young man this week to be found in Lake Ontario. Read more about Mason MacPhail below.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Mason MacPhail
The body of a missing 16-year-old was found along the shore of Lake Ontario. Mason MacPhail was last seen at a waterfront club in Toronto after attending a concert on May 26.
Mason’s mom says that he suffered from an autistic disorder. The circumstances around his death are mysterious. According to reports, Mason was escorted out of the club after some kind of altercation. It isn’t clear what happened after he walked out of the club. Police say the investigation is still open.
Meantime, Toronto police are also searching the areas around Lake Ontario for Shane Fair. The 19-year-old hasn’t been seen since he went to a dance on May 15. Click here to read more about Shane Fair’s disappearance.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Gerald Smith
According to toxicology reports, Gerald Smith’s blood alcohol level was .149 when he was recovered in the Wabash River. He was last seen in a Terre Haute, Indiana bar on May 1. His body was found one week later and nearly 50 miles downstream. Based on his blood alcohol level and the lack of trauma on his body, Gerald’s death was ruled an “accidental drowning.” Click here to read earlier posts about Gerald Smith.
Click here to read more about Gerald’s autopsy.
NOTE: According to research, blood alcohol level can increase after death. We don’t know the exact amount of his intoxication at the time he died. Based on the timeline, it may have been slightly lower than .149. Click here to read more about BAC levels.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Joshua Kaneakua
Joshua Kaneakua was last seen leaving Gabby’s Bar in Minneapolis on St. Patrick’s Day – March 17, 2007. His body was recovered in the Mississippi River later that month. According to reports, his death was ruled a suicide.
Antwann Tucker was last seen leaving Gabby’s Bar in Minneapolis on May 7, 2009. His body was found in the Mississippi River on May 15, 2009. His friend says Tucker had been drinking and his death was ruled a suicide.
Here is the report the Associated Press released about Antwann’s death:
The Hennepin County medical examiner has identified a body found in the Mississippi River near the Hennepin Avenue bridge last week in Minneapolis.
He is Antwane Terrell Tucker, 24, of St. Cloud. Officials said he is also known to spell his first name as Antwann. Tucker’s body was found just before 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Investigators are still trying to determine how he died and whether foul play was involved.
** Thanks to Antwann’s friend who mentioned Gabby’s in an email. It made me think of Joshua’s case. Sorry, the information is not detailed. If I can find more data, I’ll post it.
Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence
Shane Fair
A 19-year-old Canadian student and reservist soldier is missing. Shane Fair was last seen at a dinner at the Atlantis Pavilion in Toronto on May 16 (the photo on the left was taken at the dinner.) His friends realized he was missing when he didn’t show up to board a bus to return to his residence at Calumet College in York.
“This week has been pretty difficult. It’s a mother’s worst nightmare to have her son go missing and not have any news,” says his mother, Lisa Malo.
Shane’s friends say that he had been drinking at the dinner and was talking and having fun. At the end of the dinner, friends say Shane was quieter than normal and was sitting at the bar alone.
Friends say Shane liked to go hiking and enjoyed long walks. They think he may have decided to walk back to campus. There is a report that he was seen walking about six blocks east of the Pavilion.
Police say that foul play is not suspected. Searchers are now focusing on a lake. Police are using an underwater robot to look along the lakefront. While police officers are not actively organzing block by block search parties, Shane’s family and friends are.
“It’s difficult,” said Fair’s mother, Lisa Malo. “You always hate to imagine the worst. But here we are, with the worst in front of me.”
Click here to read more about the disappearance of Shane Fair.
Click here to read an earlier post about missing men in Canada.
Kristi Piehl In the Press, Uncategorized
- Dan Zamlen
It’s buried in a new story about the realibility of search dogs, but it’s a revelation about Dan Zamlen that I hadn’t heard before . . .
“The dogs indicated almost immediately that he had gone into the water,” said Sarah Garfunkel (the search dog’s handler). “The first night.”
It is an interesting statement about the mysterious drowning death of St. Thomas University student, Dan Zamlen. Reporters tell me that in early April, St. Paul Police led them to believe that Dan would probably not be recovered in the Mississippi River because his shoe print was found on the street, pointing away from the river. When Dan was recovered in the Mississippi in May, the official word was that he fell down the bluff into the Mississippi. However, there weren’t any signs of a body rolling down the bluffs and none of his belongings were found. So what did happen to Dan? Autopsy results are pending.
Kristi Piehl Case Updates
This week, a retired police officer from Terre Haute, Indiana emailed me a possible explanation for the medical findings in these deaths. As I’ve reported before, one of the common autopsy conclusions is no trauma to the body. The retired officer suggested that the young men may be drugged, driven to the river bank and submerged while alive. The victims would be helpless and unable to swim or flail.
The retired officer suggested the drug succinylcholine is being used. Click here to read more about the drug.It was used by Shannon Davis’ husband to kill her in 1980. Click here to read an article about the Shannon Davis homicide.
Is a drug like succinylcholine injected into the victims? I don’t know, but neither do the authorities who are investigating these deaths. My point is that you can’t find a drug that you aren’t looking for. Until medical examiners and coroners run complete toxicology tests, we won’t know if a drug is being used to render these strong young men helpless.
NOTE: The increased traffic on the site (surpassed 2 million hits since the February 2009 launch) is generating more posted comments, interesting discussions and hopefully the kind of buzz needed to capture the attention of law enforcement. The families of victims who I talk with are encouraged by the public’s interest in their son’s deaths. On behalf of them – THANKS!
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Gerald Smith
Gerald Smith’s body was recovered in the Wabash River on Friday evening, May 8th. It was found in Vincennes, Indiana – more then 50 miles down river from where Gerald was last seen in Terre Haute on May 1.
On May 9th (the day he should have graduated from Indiana State University), Gerald’s death was ruled “accidental drowning.” So how did the County Coroner come to that conclusion? “Can I say with 100 percent assurance that he was not murdered? Well, no but there is nothing short of an eyewitness account that will say that but without a good explanation of a motive for a murder… none of that makes a whole lot of sense,” Dr. Roland Kohr said. Click here to read more about why Gerald’s death was ruled an accidental drowning.
The toxicology results are expected to be completed in the next week.
(See earlier posts and comments for more information about the simlarities between Gerald’s case and another Terre Haute case.)
Kristi Piehl Case Updates
Ezra Milan
Ezra Milan’s body was recovered on Friday, May 8th in the Fore River in Portland, Maine. He was last seen on a bridge over the Fore River on March 11. Click here to read earlier posts about Ezra Milan’s case.
Officials have ruled his death an “accidental drowning.” Click here to read more about this development. I’ll post more on this as it’s released.
NOTE: Gerald Smith’s body was also found on Friday, May 8th. See earlier post below.
Kristi Piehl Case Updates
Gerald Smith
The search is on for a missing Indiana State University senior. Gerald Smith, 22, was last seen walking in Terre Haute, Indiana in the early hours of May 1. He had been out at a bar celebrating the end of a class project with friends and professors.
A bartender says that Gerald was kicked out of the bar and that’s why he left. Police say they can’t confirm the bartender’s account and one woman who was with Gerald is disputing it. Gerald was last seen by a professor who offered to pay for a cab to bring Gerald home. Police said that they’ve confirmed Gerald accessed the internet from his phone after he left the bar. Since then, his cell phone, bank accounts and credit cards have not been used. Several searches have failed to turn up any clues. Click here to read the latest from ISU about the search for Gerald.
Scott Javins
Terre Haute has been the focus of a search for a missing student before. Scott Javins disappeared May 24, 2002. His parents are now reliving their nightmare and trying to help Gerald’s family. The similarities between Scott and Gerald are disturbing. In a local article, Scott’s dad said, “Brown hair, brown eyes. Same major at ISU, in Safety Risk Management. Gosh, height and weight similar.” Click here to read more about the similarities in the two disappearances.
Five years after Scott disappeared, his remains were recovered in his car. It was found submerged in the Wabash River. The coroner determined that Scott died from an “accidental drowning.” Here’s what the county coroner said, “Drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion. It is based on finding a body in water and having no other options to explain it.” Click here to read about the investigation.
Click here to go to Scott’s website.
Kristi Piehl Case Updates
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