posted 08-19-2005 11:20 AM ET (US)            

Pirates.??

posted 08-19-2005 11:37 AM ET (US)            

The boat had drifted N/E to the outer Les Cheneaux Islands (Marquette Island) which means that if they went in - they'll be somewhere along the southern shore of the eastern UP - perhaps as far East as DeTour. If they got caught in that current coming out of Superior - they should extend the recovery effort to the remote outer shore of Manitoulin Island.

Theory: if conditions were getting rough, one could have been thrown from the boat, or they stopped to do something (stupid like urinating over the side, or off the swimming deck?) one could have gone overboard and the other gone in after to help.

My dad sheltered a guy who washed up on his beach in Southern Lake Michigan about 4 or 5 years ago. He was crossing in a similar sized boat, alone and hit a wave "wrong", which caused him to hit his head on the windshield (breaking his cheekbone) and tossed him overboard. He couldn't climb back into the boat as the waves were rolling 6-7 footers and eventually he and the boat washed ashore on dad's rocky beach. The boat was pulverized and this poor guy climbs the 75-100 foot high, concrete-strewn bluff and shows up on Dad's back porch, bloody and incoherent.

It happens.

Sad though.

posted 08-22-2005 05:36 PM ET (US)            

What a bummer. They look like a nice couple.

posted 08-25-2005 12:19 AM ET (US)            

Pat

posted 08-25-2005 08:35 AM ET (US)            

August 13, 2005

D9: Overdue 27-foot Wellcraft - Rogers City to Mackinac Island, MI

Air Station Traverse City and Station St. Ignace, with C-130 assistance from Canadian Regional Coordination Center Trenton are actively searching for two people possibly in the water in position 45-54.2N 084- 21.4W, near Bois Blanc Island, MI., in northern Lake Huron. The 27ft Wellcraft departed Rogers City, MI., at 5:00 p.m. and was due to arrive at Mackinac Island, MI., later that evening. After issuing an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast a sailing vessel reported seeing a boat that matched the description. Station St. Ignace arrived on scene and confirmed it was the missing boat. The boat was found in good condition with the engine running in the neutral position. Personal items were onboard including one wallet and cell phones. A voyage history was derived from the GPS which showed a drift track from Forty Mile Point, MI., to the boat location. The owner was not onboard and stated his daughter borrowed the boat and was with an adult male friend. Search efforts will continue through the evening. Case Pends.

D9: Overdue 27-foot Wellcraft - Rogers City to Mackinac Island, Mich.

Air Station Traverse City, Air Facility Muskegon, Station St. Ignace, USCGC Biscayne Bay, and a Canadian C-130 completed 14 sorties (missions) for a 35-year-old female and 34-year-old male with negative results. After their 27 ft vessel was located, Station St. Ignace was able to determine the GPS route of vessel and last cell phone calls made by the female. Sector Sault Ste. Marie put a timeline together which placed the couple close to Mackinaw Island on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with the intent to moor at Mackinac Island marina around 7:00 p.m. Four pfd's were missing from the boat and a 40 ft line was in the water. Next of kin for the 35-year-old female has been notified, but next of kin for the 34-year-old male has been unreachable so far. Continued diligence to notify the 34-year-old male's family will be D9's responsibility. Case suspended.

posted 08-25-2005 12:54 PM ET (US)            

Why did it take so long to get to Bois Blanc Island? (They were due to arrive at Mackinac Island at 6:00 PM) - and why was the GPS off? I'm wondering if we have the whole story on that front - Theory: if the GPS was running and indicated the courseline to Bois Blanc Island at 5:30 or so and then shut off until around 1:30 AM, it might indicate that they simply stopped and had dinner, perhaps anchored and took a nap in the lee of Bois Blanc Island before continuing on to Mackinac. When they turned on the boat and GPS to make a courseline to Mackinac, perhaps one fell overboard for whatever reason. The line-in-the-water theory that Jeff details above is plausible, since that's how I'd do it if I made the decision to go in after someone. But I'd first throw my lifering to see if the MOB could recover by themselves.

It is a sad story no matter what.

posted 08-25-2005 01:42 PM ET (US)            

It would seem that reasonably healthy boaters could swim as fast as a drifting boat in a lake unless the weather was really bad or they were impaired in some way, especially if their lives were depending on it.

I guess we may never know. How sad.

posted 08-25-2005 02:34 PM ET (US)         

The hard reality of it is if you're in a situation like this, you really can't afford to leave the boat and go in the water unless you are tethered to the boat. The boat is still the best chance of survival, and the boat should be manuevered right up to the person in the water to help them back aboard, or toss them a tethered cushion or jacket. Even in dead calm water, a person who can handle the boat properly should be in it while others swim, if they must.
It's also why short docklines on a boat are a waste of money. Everyone should have 25' lines. You never know when you'll need the extra length. And remember, the outboard engine is a great way to climb back into a boat, using the anti-ventilation plate to stand up on, bear hugging the powerhead if necessary.

This is why they always say in a mishap, STAY WITH THE BOAT, even if it's overturned. It's also why we buy Whalers, since overturned, they won't sink out from under you.

posted 08-25-2005 03:41 PM ET (US)            

We're talking about Lake Huron here, not some small inland lake. The position where the GPS track started at 1:30 AM the morning of their disappearance is somewhat in the lee of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet. These straits are not exactly considered mild and have a tendency to produce some nasty conditions.

However, I don't believe the weather was bad this particular day.

The water up there, while reaching the upper 60's and low 70's in the shallows, is deceptively cold all year long, and was likely in the low 60's to upper 50's just a few feet under the surface.

August typically produces the most reliably good weather in this are.

There are some weird currents, since Lake Michigan is flowing into Lake Huron through a 5 mile wide strait about 6 miles to the West of where the boat was cast adrift (15 miles or so West of where the boat was found). And 20 miles East, the cold waters of Lake Superior are dumping into Lake Huron through the St. Mary's River.

This is big water, to be sure, and should be respected like the ocean.

I agree with Larry - Stay with the boat. I believe one of our West Coast forum members gave me the idea to develop a safety card for the boat and to have folks read it before coming aboard. I've been working on one for a few days since I saw this posting.

posted 08-25-2005 04:44 PM ET (US)            

Hope this works -
It's a link to a satellite image of the area. On the left you can see the Mackinac Bridge, crossing the Straits of Mackinac. That bridge is about 5 miles long.

On the right, you can see the large island that is Bois Blanc Island and north of that, a very small island (Goose Island) and then the larger Marquette Island above that, nestled in with the rest of the Les Cheneaux Islands.

Lake Michigan is on the left (west) of the bridge, the water you're looking at is mostly lake Huron.

If they were on the north side of Bois Blanc Island, they were relatively leeward of the wind/waves - since the boat drifted north to a position about 2 miles South of Marquette Island. That's partly why I don't think weather really played a role in this situation (pure speculation there).

posted 08-25-2005 05:04 PM ET (US)            

I actually went scuba diving out of Alpena, Michigan on the morning of August 12, 2005. Alpena is just south of Rogers City, where the couple was last seen alive. Although August 11 had been a very windy and overcast day, the weather had calmed down by the evening. On the morning of August 12, Lake Huron was very calm, and the sun was out. The waves outside of Thunder Bay were less than one foot.

posted 08-25-2005 06:48 PM ET (US)            

It is a sad situation for sure, and has given me a lot of food for thought as I often boat alone. I have recently started training my 13 year old son, who joined me At Charlevoix, Mi., that in an emergency should I fall overboard, put the boat in neutral or shut it off, to hail help via radio (my radio has a red button which automatically changes to emergency channel), give GPS coordinates, toss the throwable, etc....

Ironically enough, The State Police Sergeant in charge of the investigation is a guy who I recently attended a Financial Analysis school with. The news also had a shot of the arrival of the MSP Dive Team with a Boston Whaler Outrage in tow. It was a quick shot couldn't tell what size Outrage, but I did see the MSP Door Seal on the side. It's the first time I've seen an MSP Water Craft of any type.

posted 08-26-2005 06:06 PM ET (US)            

See:

http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0508/26/B01-293812.htm

Reading between the lines, one gets the impression that the relatives of the missing woman seem to have a strong feeling that foul play was involved. For those not following the story closely, the abandoned boat was owned by the woman's family. The body of her male companion has not been found. I guess those are a couple of dots that could be connected.

More coverage also from the Detroit Free Press:

posted 08-30-2005 12:02 AM ET (US)            

See:

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/missing27e_20050827.htm

for more details.

posted 09-22-2005 08:45 AM ET (US)            

http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0509/16/A01-317149.htm

posted 09-23-2005 05:45 PM ET (US)            

To jimh's question regarding the GPS memory: Could the GPS have been on long enough such that its memory filled and the unit started to 'write over itself' ?

1) The timeline shows the boat stopped for gas at 12:37 p.m. on 9/11. Assume electrical shutdown to gas the boat and then restart. The timeline shows that the GPS was "turned on" at 1:36 a.m. on 9/12. This is about 13 hours after the boat was gassed.

2) Start with the timeline at the GPS being "turned on" at 1:36 a.m. on 9/12. It shows that the boat was found about 11:20 a.m. on 9/12. This is about 10 hours after the 1:36 a.m. turn-on time.

Could one deduce for an electronic device with finite memory that in the first time slice the GPS was turned-on at 12:37 p.m. 9/11, and, if left on it filled up its memory at 1:36 a.m. 9/12 where it then started to write over itself? This would indicate that the memory fills after about 13 hours. If so, then at this time the GPS wrote a 1:36 a.m. start time over the original 12:37 p.m. start time and kept on running. The boat was discovered about 10 hours later, at which time the GPS indicated that it had been turned on at 1:36 a.m. 9/12 instead of 12:37 p.m. 9/11.

One report that seems odd in respect to this occurs in the 8/26 Detroit Free Press. Here is states that "..it deviated from its planned course around 1 a.m. Aug.12, and the speed of the boat dropped to 1 m.p.h. somewhere near the east side of Bois Blanc Island about the same time,...". This conflicts with virtually all of the other reports that state that the GPS was turned on at 1:36 a.m. Because, how does one determine that the boat changed course and/or speed with a GPS a half hour before it was turned on?

Also, one web article said that the GPS panic button was pushed around 1:30 a.m. but I have not been able to refind that article for reference.

I tried to determine the year and modle of the Wellcraft boat. From the picture in the paper, it could be a 2000 vintage 2600 Martinique but a 1998 Wellcraft 260SE listing appeared to be an exact match. The 260SE showed that the "Wellcraft" lettering is in exactly the same spot and other exact-matching features appear to be the Dodge Daytona-like spoiler, bow rails, cockpit glass, and port hole windows. The vintage 2000 Martinique's are the same except the "Wellcraft" lettering is in a different spot.

One listing for the Martinique model boat specifies the LOA as 27'5'', which goes along with all the reports that the boat was a 27 footer. It appears from several sources of pictures of the Martinique and 260SE model on the web that it has a built-in dive platform and transom door. So getting into the boat is feasible for a swimmer.

The reason I researched the boat model and vintage was to try and determine a likely vintage for an OEM-installed GPS. Several listings of these model boats listed GPS's, most without specifics. But a couple listed the GPS as a Garmin. One listing, which didn't have a photo, utilized information from a brochure that I noted as a Garmin GPSmap182. So if anyone has a similar GPS, maybe they could comment on its function and memory if powered up and left on for an extended period of time.

posted 09-23-2005 07:53 PM ET (US)            

Re the GPS: I have felt from the initial mention of the GPS track that the authorities have been misinterpreting the information. Also, how the heck to you derive speed data from the GPS track? Can your GPS do this? I do not think that my GPS can do this. Heck, if it can, I surely do not know how to access this information.

Perhaps there is something special about the GPS and the investigators have access to more data than the average user of a GPS knows about. I suppose it might be possible to download all the track information and analyze it, assuming it was a series of stored fixes and times.

posted 09-23-2005 08:21 PM ET (US)            

You cannot deduce that it filled up its memory at 1:36 a.m.,
only that it was full when found (and even that isn't 100%
certain, only highly likely). If the track memory was
empty and the GPS really was turned on at 1:36, then it
didn't fill until about the time it was found. Much more
likely is that it wrapped years before and had been wrapping
every since. Mine sure has.

I've thought for some time that when a GPS needs more track
points, it should delete "half" of the points in the oldest
"half" of the track point memory. This would give you less
resolution but a much longer time span.

posted 09-23-2005 09:15 PM ET (US)            

JimH - you can't tell the actual speed, but on my Garmin 168, you can determine relative speed since the "breadcrumbs" space differently on the track. For instance, when I review the track from a recent trip, you can determine the no-wake zones or where I've slowed to idle by how closely the dots are spaced.

When I left my GPS on overnight, the dots were spaced very closely (on top of one another) as the boat drifted around the anchor point.

Also interesting to note: on my model, It stored the three days worth of data (including an overnight at anchor) before it utilized all of the active track memory and began to re-write over old tracks.

posted 09-23-2005 11:06 PM ET (US)            

60 2/21/2005 12:47:17 PM 237 ft 0:00:05 28 kt 153* true N36 36.707 W121 53.453
61 2/21/2005 12:47:22 PM 227 ft 0:00:05 27 kt 154* true N36 36.673 W121 53.431
62 2/21/2005 12:47:27 PM 237 ft 0:00:05 28 kt 153* true N36 36.639 W121 53.411
63 2/21/2005 12:47:32 PM 233 ft 0:00:05 28 kt 151* true N36 36.604 W121 53.389
64 2/21/2005 12:47:37 PM 220 ft 0:00:05 26 kt 153* true N36 36.571 W121 53.366
65 2/21/2005 12:47:42 PM 149 ft 0:00:05 18 kt 178* true N36 36.539 W121 53.345
66 2/21/2005 12:47:47 PM 58 ft 0:00:05 7 kt 199* true N36 36.514 W121 53.344
67 2/21/2005 12:47:52 PM 34 ft 0:00:05 4 kt 227* true N36 36.505 W121 53.348
68 2/21/2005 12:47:57 PM 25 ft 0:00:05 3 kt 230* true N36 36.501 W121 53.353
69 2/21/2005 12:48:02 PM 20 ft 0:00:05 2 kt 219* true N36 36.499 W121 53.357
70 2/21/2005 12:48:07 PM 19 ft 0:00:05 2 kt 270* true N36 36.496 W121 53.359

posted 09-24-2005 05:38 AM ET (US)            

Just little strange to see someone using Knots Instead of miles.

posted 09-24-2005 06:01 AM ET (US)            

I have always been curious how they knew (or alleged) that the GPS device had been turned on at a particular time of day.

posted 09-24-2005 06:49 AM ET (US)            

My unit is a Garmin 276c, using blue charts. To retrieve the data using the Garmin supplied cord it is connected to a serial port.

My hand held E-Trex, same way but with a different cord.

Updates to software in both units can only be installed using the connection.

posted 10-06-2005 01:08 PM ET (US)            

I read all the postings, but wanted to make sure I didn't miss this significant piece.

posted 10-06-2005 04:05 PM ET (US)            

I have a Garmin 162, which is at best obsolescent (Garmin
replaced it a couple of years ago).

Yes, I read out the track with Garmin MapSource via the serial
port. There's
nothing the explicitly says the unit was turned on or off.
If the track hasn't yet wrapped, there would be dead period
in the track. That could also happen if tracking were turned
off and back on again.

posted 11-03-2005 09:03 AM ET (US)            

Teak surfing in the nude?

I presume that there will be an inspection of the boat for
exhaust leaks.

posted 11-03-2005 02:10 PM ET (US)            

What works against that theory is the water temperature of Lake Huron in that vicinity. It is generally not more than 70-degrees, even in little shallow coves in the dead of summer. In mid-lake water, I think it would be quite a bit cooler, probably in the low 60-degree range.

posted 11-03-2005 02:52 PM ET (US)            

Below 20%, a perseon often won't have any symptoms, or if they do, it will likely be feeling crummy, headache, etc.

posted 11-04-2005 01:00 PM ET (US)            

Interesting that her body floated South and East, while the boat floated North and East (with the wind at the time?)

I'm also still fascinated with the GPS factor - how and why it was turned on, and the data it contained is very important, but I somehow don't think we're getting accurate information in the media on that front.

posted 11-04-2005 04:32 PM ET (US)            

Dave,
yes, it is a tactic sometimes used, as long as you do not promise anything. You can tell a person anything however misleading to get them to admit to involvement in a crime. But if you promise them "You can go home if you tell me what happened" Well that one won't fly.....

I haven't read the article, I heard a blip on the radio today....

posted 11-04-2005 05:02 PM ET (US)            

This case is like something on a TV cop show, but I'll bet it turns out to be just a sad misfortune. Man, serious stuff can happen so fast on the water and stem from just one tiny mistake or moment of inattention...

posted 11-04-2005 09:49 PM ET (US)            

Identification through dental records would not be a problem.

posted 01-01-2006 01:19 PM ET (US)            

http://stempienrutherford.com/

If you really want to spend an hour reading a lot of speculation from people who aren't sure of basic things like what time zone Michigan happens to be in, see the Court TV forum thread, all 17-pages of it and still growing:

http://boards.courttv.com/showthread. php?s=ccbac2acfba7a122825a98b433777c47&threadid=236998&perpage=10& highlight=michigan&pagenumber=1

The most interesting details from the long discussion there:

--a report by a local TV station based on an interview with another boater (who is reported to have a 50-foot boat) that the derelict boat was trailing a 20-foot line off the stern when initially found by this other boater. A blue fender was attached to the end of the line. The USCG report omits the blue fender. That boater is now avoiding further comment.

--the body of the missing woman was found without any clothing, which in the (reported) opinion of the medical examiner would be indicative of it having entered the water that way (as it had not been in the water long enough for any clothing to be removed by wave action). Yet an expensive Omega watch was being worn. Friends of the victim report she was very fond of that watch and would never voluntarily enter the water while wearing it. This is construed to mean that she did not enter the water voluntarily.

posted 01-12-2006 01:43 PM ET (US)            

"On behalf of Lana's family I want to say thank you to those of you who have kept Lana and her family in your thoughts and prayers. ..... You will hopefully get a good understanding as to how and why we are so sure that what happened on the water that day was not an accident ... So please be sure to watch Dateline."

From the Dateline site: " Coming up on Dateline - Jan. 13, Friday, 9 p.m. What seemingly started out as a pleasure trip ended in a mysterious disappearance when two attorneys in-love vanished on Lake Huron. Her body was found, but his was never recovered. Was it an accident or was it murder?"

posted 01-12-2006 03:26 PM ET (US)            

This has always felt like an accident to me. But I'm intrigued by several unpublished details that either support an accident theory or provide cause to suspect foul play as suggested by apparent insiders. We'll see....

posted 01-14-2006 06:08 AM ET (US)            

There were a few new details and some accounts by witnesses mentioned in previous published articles. The witnesses included the couple they had dinner with the night before at the marina and a dock attendant. Details included a phone call [Lana Stempien] made at 1:50-ish pm the day of the disappearance to a man.

The knob in the shoe looked about like I had imagined. I don't see how it conclusively indicates foul play. It IS odd. But it COULD have occured by accident. A test with another like shoe and knob and a person of the same weight as [Lana Stempien] could shed some light.

The GPS details are still cloudy and guarded. I'm an engineer so nothing would suffice except a complete analysis of the GPS readings and capabilities. Someone did state that the ONLY way the GPS could have had some blank memory or basically been in the state it was in is IF someone had manipulated it during a particular window of time, namely early the morning the boat was found. If so, then this is the only solid implication of foul play. I'm not sure what else falls into this category save for the many gaps, disconnects, unanswered questions, etc.

The blue fender issue is baffling. An eyewitness gave an account that they were there. Yet, where are they? The USCG cannot confirm nor can anyone produce them. Research shows that [Lana Stempien] did not buy them, at least at 'the usual places'. No one mentioned how many the boat did have.

What about the vodka bottle? No details of where it was found and under what 'conditions' were provided. Same for [Lana Stempien] clothes or [Chuck Rutherford] effects.All detective Sexton would say was that there was nothing found to suggest foul play.

I can understand why people would be suspicious in this case. I think the GPS readings are the only real potential solid indicator of foul play. I say potential only because that analysis was not presented. If you accept what was presented on Dateline and in the publications so far, what besides the GPS is a solid indicator of foul play?

Without the GPS details, I'm still leaning toward accident. I see events happen like this in engineering failure investigations. You don't usually see what we call "single-point failures", those have usually been designed out. It usually takes a chain of events for something really bad to happen. As humans, we can't begin to account for all of those potential combinations in our lives.

posted 01-14-2006 07:56 AM ET (US)         

The knob could easily have fallen off and stepped on - but, as a lawyer (not an engineer), I'd have to see some testing on that. There are probably a dozen other non foul play scenarios that we could develop.

Need some definitve answer on the GPS.

I do not think it at all unusual that the girl's family would think foul play. So often, it is the boyfriend/husband who is responsible as in The Juice.

posted 01-14-2006 09:50 PM ET (US)            

Did confirm that Lana had called another male friend, and had been considering breaking or cooling off the relationship with Charles. Don't know if that was going to occur during the trip.

The friend thought the story indicated that the GPS indicated a track for a while, then no track, then a resumption of track upto where the boat was found. That's weird...

Based on my experience with about five different Garmin GPS models (handheld units, aviation units, and marine units) there is only three ways that might happen: the unit either didn't have power to it; unit was turned off; unit was on and something obstructed the antenna. Did the unit have an external antenna, or was it built in?. None of the units I've used allowed for removal of a section of track.

Definately odd case though. Enough facts to point in a number of directions.

posted 01-22-2006 05:08 AM ET (US)            

If anyone has this model, perhaps they could say what readings there are after the unit has been switched on, some waypoints programmed and then the unit left running for 24 hrs or 48 hrs or until the unit is out of memory, starts over, etc.

Also, the Dateline transcript says "... part of the memory on the GPS was suspiciously blank. The company that makes the unit says that could only happen if someone intentionally deleted information ...". Maybe someone could comment as to if and how this could be done.

posted 01-22-2006 05:50 PM ET (US)            

Was the memory full, and the initial part of the trip erased to make room for the more recent part of the trip? Garmins can be set to do that (in fact, that may be the factory default....will have to check). For someone unfamilier with how they operate, the missing portion of the track _could_ make someone think suspiciously.

Anyone out there have experience with a 130?

posted 01-22-2006 11:50 PM ET (US)            

I downloaded the 130 manual, and the options are Off (no track
line), Fill (stops the track when the track memory fills up),
and Wrap (overwrites the oldest data when track memory fills
up). I'm pretty sure Wrap was the factory default on my
175.

The 130 is a pretty moldy old unit -- the manual is dated 1996.

Chuck

posted 02-14-2006 03:34 PM ET (US)            

http://www.wxyztv.com/wxyz/ys_investigations/article/ 0,2132,WXYZ_15949_4456612,00.html

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060213/NEWS02/ 602130350

posted 08-04-2006 03:11 PM ET (US)            

I spent the last week of June and July in Cedarville. Everywhere we went it seemed there were flyers with photos, etc., on this story. The Hessel Bay Inn, Hessel Grocery, The Islander, Cedarville Foods, The Fogcutter in De Tour, on and on. Fresh, recently placed flyers, not left over from last year. Following the story, as I have, the sheer number of them caught my eye.

posted 09-21-2006 03:29 PM ET (US)            

One thing that really jumped out at me was the fact they found the boat idling with a long line off the stern. I don't know about other boaters, but when we went swimming or stopping for lunch, etc., we threw out our lunch hook, secured the line, turned our engine off, made sure we weren't dragging and then went swimming, fishing, eating lunch or whatever. We absolutely NEVER went into the water without the boat being anchored AND the engine (diesl) off. So for an experienced boater, trained by her Coast Guard father to do this is a red flag for me. I just have a hard time believing that any boater on any one of the Great Lakes would ever go into the water without their boat being anchored and/or turning the engine off.

I also have a hard time believing that anyone (especially a female) would go skinny dipping in that cold water. I've been in it prepared with covering to clear a prop or check a thru-hull, but never, never skinny dipping -- way too cold.

The GPS writing over itself seems logical to me, but the knob in her shoe seems strange.

The other thing that seems strange is the fact that she went into the lake with her Omega watch on since she just paid $300 to have it cleaned, etc. Seems strange also.

This case reminds me of the Muff Graham case on Palmyra Island so long ago, very similar where her body was found ashore in a trunk by another sailor, but to my knowledge Mac's body has never shown up anywhere.

posted 09-21-2006 07:32 PM ET (US)            

I do admit that the case is quite mysterious.

The case of the Grahams is much less mysterious: an ex-con
who turned up in Honolulu with their boat was convicted,
to a great extent on the testimony of the ex-con's GF.

posted 09-22-2006 09:30 AM ET (US)            

That type of knob is used to facilitate removable electronics, like many vhf radios. The knob(s) often come loose in active seas and mine have completely backed out a few times. They are typically a small diameter thread with a relatively large diameter flat knob to aid hand torquing.

Drop one on the deck and its not unusual for it to land with the threads straight up. Hop out of your captain's chair with a typical athletic shoe and land on it and the knob will penetrate the shoe. I proved that in my garage.

The boat in this case has a removable electronic device at the helm that could be a source for the knob. The captain's chair is typical height and you would at least occasionally hop in and out of it. And the boat was known to be operating in rough seas on the day of the event.

posted 09-22-2006 08:22 PM ET (US)            

I completely agree that the Great Lakes situation is VERY
suspicious.

posted 09-22-2006 09:13 PM ET (US)            

I had never heard the 'walk the plank' theory. I've read Buglosi's book and saw the movie, but of course who knows what really happened as there were no eye witnesses and I'm sure Hollywood takes lots of liberties in making movies.

As far as the Lake Huron boaters, I'm sure there cold have been a third or fourth party involved, it does not have to mean that Rutherford is alive and well somewhere. One just doesn't know for sure - not enough clues or at least clues that the authorities have released anyway.

posted 09-23-2006 11:57 AM ET (US)            

The bounding probability then would be that which defines the likelihood of a person falling out of a boat. It happens offshore here in Florida every now and then.

A co-worker fell out on the way to the Bahamas. The boat of a guy in the neighborhood came ashore on autopilot empty. And a veteran boater was lost crossing the straits of Florida solo as part of a group of boats in radio contact. There have been a few others in the past 25 years.

The nudity does not appear to be significant. A poll of boaters asking how many have taken some form of an 'adult' trip would result in a doule-digit percentage of 'yays';) (this was a Wellcraft, not a BW). And, this was a young attractive couple alone on a long weekend of boating.

Given the above, the remainder of the scenario would follow a script. A person falling out would surely generate recovery action, like circling back and throwing out a stern line. If the person is fading the person in the boat has little choice but to throttle back to idle and risk entering the water or watch their comrade go under.

posted 09-23-2006 02:46 PM ET (US)            

Also what happened to the blue fenders that were not part of the boat's equipment prior to the Coast Guard getting to the boat's location; who took them? The witness saw the blue fenders, but when the Coast Guard arrived they were not there.

In a regular lake I can understand no anchor, however in the Great Lakes with the very cold water (having spent a lot of time in it myself) I just don't see that type of thing as common and certainly not going in for a 'skinny dip.' For the most part the Great lakes are very unforgiving if you end up in the water and with her training and experience I really don't think she would do something like that. But of course I'm only speculating, who knows what happened, it really is a mystery.

I thought I heard on one of the interview shows that the Co2 was 13%, but I could have that wrong. They apparently tested for leaks in the cabin and did not find any. The swim ladder was up when the Coast Guard got there, so that seems strange for having been in for a dip also.

posted 09-25-2006 02:26 PM ET (US)            

Do you think she would have gone in the water without anchoring and leave the engine in neutral???

I'm not a power boater, we sailed on Lake Superior and I know we never left the boat without anchoring or tieing off if in a remote area. So I guess I really can't say what power boaters might do. It just seemed strange to me.

posted 09-25-2006 11:14 PM ET (US)            

I have spent enough time on Lake Superior, both cruising and racing sailboats, as well as plenty of time on my whaler, from the Keewenaw all the way around to the Canadian north shore to say will great certainty, that no-one type of boater has cornered the market on stupidity, or even doing mildly dumb things that get them into big trouble.

To say - "sailors wouldn't do that, maybe powerboaters would", shows either inexperience or prejudice. In fact, I would have to say some of the stupidist things I have ever seen done on the water were by the crew of a sailboat I was racing against on Lake Superior in a race from Bayfield to Grand Marais. Lets just say no one was seriously injured and the owner got away with having to buy a new mast and some sails.

posted 09-26-2006 02:24 PM ET (US)            

I was not speaking disparagingly about power boaters. I just have no experience power boating on the Great Lakes. Yes I've seen lots of stupid stuff done by people in sail boats, the dumbest was a group on a large sailboat off Stockton Island, they came into the bay for the night, literally threw an anchor overboard, jumped into the dingy and went to shore. No checking to see if the anchor was set, the right scope out or anything, just bang and off to shore.

Later that night when winds changed they learnred a hard lesson about setting an anchor properly. So no one group hold the record for doing things without thinking.

posted 10-12-2006 12:13 AM ET (US)            

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15209681/

posted 10-24-2006 02:53 PM ET (US)            

It is my understanding that such an arrangement is sometimes used as an aid for swimmers when in the water adjacent to the vessel. As such,it would appear to be an indication of normalcy, and not of an emergency situation.

One of the theories as to what happened involves a possible emergency, in which either Chuck or Lana went accidentally overboard, and was then followed by the other in a failed attempt at rescue. The rigging of the bumpers as described above would not support this theory, to my understanding.

Additionally, none of Lana's family or friends have any recollection of blue bumpers being aboard Lana's vessel. Her family can locate no record of such bumpers having been purchased during the trip in question.

Also, when boarded by the Coast Guard, the vessel's radio was playing loudly, and the engine was at idle. It was drifting; the anchor had not been lowered. The boarding occurred during the late morning of the day after Lana's last phonecall, which she made at 1:59pm on August 11th, 2005.

posted 10-28-2006 04:13 PM ET (US)            

Well, I think the blue fenders are significant since there is absolutely no evidence that she ever had/used blue fenders. Whose were they and where did they end up, who took them???

Now, I think I've said this before and let me qualify what I am going to say with the fact that I am a sailor, not a powerboater (which is nothing against powerboaters), just perhaps we do things a little differently sometimes.

I don't recall a time ever while sailing/anchoring on Lake Superior that we ever went in swimming with our engine at idle, no anchor out with line off the aft, even supported by fenders. If we were swimming the boat's anchor was set, engine was off and no lines were overboard.

I understand the theory of having a line overboard, we did that in Hawaii when snorkeling where there was quite a current, but there were two people on board the boat, one manning the engine and one just keeping an eye generally on the snorkelers.

The fact that the engine was idleing, unaccounted fenders seen, and no anchor out does not equal swimming (volnutarily) to me. But then I am a suspicious sort anyway.

posted 10-29-2006 12:07 PM ET (US)            

Another theory is that Chuck was taking a pee off the back of the boat and fell in. As stated a few posts above, the nudity thing isn't that rare in a wider age range than you would think. Nude with boat shoes or sandles is common too. A quickie in the cabin before hitting land would explain her nudity with the watch still on. The empty vodka bottle might imply that Chuck was drunk even though she wasn't according to the tox report. The boat was in idle while they were in the cabin. He left her in the cabin to go relieve himself off the back of the boat. She heard him go overboard and rushed to the back of the boat, stepping on a knob that was on the floor. She couldn't walk with the knob in the shoe and tried to get the knob out, but decided to quickly take off her shoes instead. The rest is as above with her in the water, unable to get him back aboard and too exhausted to keep up with the blowing boat.

posted 10-29-2006 07:01 PM ET (US)            

There's been debate about whether or not "Sea's Life" could have drifted away from Lana and Chuck and thus condemned them to ultimately drown.

It seems that Lana's last call at 16:59 UTC on 11 August 2005 was the approximate start of whatever chain of events resulted in her death.

Unfortunately, we don't have any GPS data indicating how fast Lana's boat was drifting at that time. The first drift track we have doesn't begin until early the next morning.

The wind data from the three closest reporting stations show the winds increasing in velocity and changing direction from the evening of the 11th through the time Lana's boat was boarded at a bit before 4PM UTC the next day. A high pressure center, which had given relative calm and sunny conditions on the 11th, was moving off to the east during this time.

The average drift speed for the first hour (the GPS was recording trackpoints every 10 to 15 seconds) was 1.2584 knots. This interval included instantaneous speeds of between 1.0 and 2.0 knots for the first hour.

For the several hours of drifting recorded after that, as the winds were generally increasing in velocity, and until the Coast Guard boarded "Sea's Life", though the average drift speed incresed, the highest instantaneous speed was still 2.0 knots.

Chuck and Lana were both described as strong swimmers, and only one of them would have had to reach the boat in order to return it to the other. A good time in the 1500 meter freestyle calculates out to over 3 knots, and that includes turns in the swimming pool.

So, the theory that "Sea's Life" drifted away seems unlikely to me.

Your thoughts and comments are most appreciated.

One additional question: is the practice of tying bumpers to a line rigged from the stern of a vessel as an aid to swimmers in any way a regional practice, or something which would be done most anywhere?

posted 10-30-2006 11:37 PM ET (US)         

Is the nakedness such a big clue? I thought if you drowned, your clothes would eventually wash away if you were floating around for any length of time. Did they find clothes in the boat as if they disrobed for a swim or whatever?

As for the line, either they rigged the line themselves to go for a swim or it was from Chuck's accomplice/getaway boat and they forgot to take it with them after doing in the lady. You would have to see how it was tied, where the fenders were etc., to get a feel for if it was consistent with swim line or if it looked like a forgotten "dock" line used to raft up at sea with the accomplices.

posted 10-31-2006 11:42 AM ET (US)            

Lana was a dear friend, and I've offered my assistance to her family in helping determine what happened on that terrible day. I'm not a professional investigator, but am a graduate engineer and flight instructor, and am well-practiced in root-cause analysis, background which may prove helpful in sorting the facts from all of the speculation and conjecture which surround this case.

I want to find the truth, no matter what that truth may be, and in my view that is exactly what Lana would want as well. I can best honor her memory by maintaining that standard.

Concerning Lana's nudity when her body was found, the Michigan State Police Sergeant, Sgt. Sexton, stated that clothing would neither disintegrate or come off during the time period (13 days) in which Lana is believed to have been in the water. He further stated that clothing would have left marks on her body, marks which were not present at her autopsy.

While we can't say for certain that ALL of Lana's clothing was present when her vessel was boarded by the Coast Guard, there was an amount present consistent with what would be expected to be brought on such a trip.

As you indicate, the manner in which the line was affixed to Lana's vessel is of critical importance (see below). The individual who first found the vessel abandoned is positive that the line was present, however the Coast Guard did not report the line present when they arrived on the scene about an hour later. Yet, the line is mentioned in the Coast Guard's activity reports, which another poster to this board has previously cited.

There are at least two troubling things about the bumpers:

1. None of Lana's friends have any recollection of her ever having had blue bumpers, only white ones. The attendant at the last point where Lana fueled confirmed that he saw only blue bumpers. Lana's family has reviewed her credit card statements and found no record of blue bumpers having been purchased. Plus, they called every known marine store and marina along the route in question, and found no indication that blue bumpers had been bought. While it's not impossible that Lana had blue bumpers, there's no evidence to indicate that she did. Thus, the theory that another boat was somehow involved.

2. The man who found Lana's vessel illustrated for "Dateline" how he observed the bumpers to be rigged, described as "oddly tied together". If they were tied in this manner, it could indicate that they were intended to be an aid to swimmers adjacent to Lana's boat, and thus be a sign of normalcy. But, there is a great amount of evidence which points away from the "Skinny-dip gone wrong" scenario, and I find an accident scenario more plausible.

Of course, there are also a number of scenarios which involve foul play.

At this point, I am open to all possibilities, though I feel some are highly unlikely, and others still reasonable.

Any thoughts the posters on this board would wish to share will be most welcome.

Here's a link to a Dateline MSNBC "Beneath the Blue Waters" web page, which deals with Lana's case:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10807318/

Thanks again for your input.

posted 11-01-2006 01:26 PM ET (US)            

Part of my reason for questioning about the line is that as an example, in Hangings the implement used, rope, extension cords, etc are always recovered as evidence with the knots in tact, so they can be analyzed as to how the knot was tied, by a left or right handed person, trace evidence, etc

posted 12-20-2006 08:48 AM ET (US)            

It doesn't sound like CourtTV has anything new.

posted 12-20-2006 01:51 PM ET (US)            

In the article Roger Gamblin claims that he has source(s) within the government that confirm satellite photo evidence exists which could help resolve a similar case involving his friend Jim Trindade. In that case, Trindade's boat was found empty and idling offshore between Florida and the Bahamas a day after being reported missing. Other similarities include GPS anomalies and no (reported) sign of a crime (although many disimilarities exist).

posted 12-20-2006 07:34 PM ET (US)            

I was on my 170 Montauk in Northern Michigan the day the boat was found and I heard everything unfold on the Coast Gaurd channel 22 on my vhf in real time as it happened. It was a warm day and even though the water in Lake Huron may have been chilly a swim would not have been out of the question in my opinion. I was working on my boat at the time and went swimming to cool off afterward (granted not in Lake Huron).

posted 08-31-2009 07:21 PM ET (US)            

This one got coverage because of the possible foul-play angle,
and I suspect because the family helped keep it alive.