I would like to preface this post by stating that there are many rumors, speculations and downright hysterical theories regarding this case. Statements in this post are strictly my opinions and are open to interpretation and editing at a later date.
Lana Stempien and Chuck Rutherford were a couple who seemed to have it all. Both were attorneys who lived together in Grosse Pointe Farms, one of the toniest neighborhoods in the state, if not the nation. Many people who knew the two thought Chuck had really scored a home-run with Lana, since she was not only stunning in a physical sense, she was a wonderful person. Some even whispered that Chuck was really batting out of his league with Lana.
Lana was the daughter of a retired pipe-fitter who had served in the Coast Guard and a beautician. Chuck was the son of a prominent partner at the prestigeous law firm of Dykema, Gossett. Chuck follwed his father into law, although he never worked with his father. Chuck worked as a Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor and then went into private practice. Rumor has it, he wasn't invited to work at such a prestigous firm as Dykema, Gossett due to his predilection of disappearing in the afternoons to practice law from a bar stool.
Lana worked as an auto show model for six years after high school, travelling the country. She'd wanted to be an attorney since she was a child and eventually worked as a lawyer for the City Of Detroit.
Chuck was engaged to another woman when he met Lana and unceremoniously dumped her to travel to Florida with fun-loving Lana soon after the two met.
They were both heavy drinkers, big barflys for being in their mid-30s. Allegedly, Lana had at least two DUIs, although I haven't been able to comfirm that on the Michigan Offender Tracking system. Chuck had a history of being a nasty abusive drunk, being ejected from bars by the police on at least three occasions after getting beligerant and mean towards Lana. It was reported by eyewitnesses that he was very verbally abusive.
Lana was a passionate sailor, purchasing a 27 foot Wellfleet cabin cruiser she christened Sea's Life. Since her father was a former Coast Gaurd man, she was adamant about boating safety and reportedly was very safety conscious.
The couple set off from Ontario on August 10 to sail to Mackinac Island aboard the Sea's Life with Lana at the helm. Chuck was not a sailor although he indulged Lana's love of the water and was learning to drive the boat.
The first night, they docked at a marina in Oscoda and had dinner with many cocktails at the Au Sable Inn with another couple.
They awoke early the next morning and set off. They stopped to gas up the boat and chatted amiably with the dock attendant. Lana expressed some concerns about the wind (Lake Huron can turn treacherous in seconds) and was assured that she had safe routes programmed into her GPS.
The dock attendant reported they were wearing sweatshirts against the chill and seemed perfectly normal and happy.
At about 2 p.m. that afternoon, Lana called a favorite aunt and reported that they were two or three hours away from Mackinac Island. She gave no indication of any conerns about weather, discord with Chuck or indeed, anything amiss.
A fellow boater, captaining a 52 foot express cruiser who was battling strong winds and rough seas near Marquette Island, far from where Lana and Chuck were headed, spotted a smaller boat floundering in the water "like a cork adrift." The boat was the Sea's Life. He called the Coast Guard to report it after thinking that whoever was at the helm of the smaller boat was a brave soul to be out on such treacherous waters. He also saw blue bumpers attached to the boat.
When the Coast Guard arrived, they found Sea's Life adrift, with no running lights on, the swim ladder in an upright position, the radio still playing (a Christian station, totally out of character by all accounts for Chuck and Lana) and no one aboard. There was an empty fifth of Absolut vodka in the trash bin and one of Lana's relatively new sneakers had a knob from her GPS system embedded in the sole. The Coast Guard did not see any blue bumpers attached anywhere.
After being reported as missing, massive search efforts were launched by both the authorities and Lana's family. Lana's family utilized everything from boats and jet skis to using her own boat after it was released by the authorities. Chuck's family was offered the use of a helicopter for only the cost of the fuel but declined.
No trace of Lana or Chuck was found during the searches.
Lana's body washed up several weeks later near Hammond Bay, several miles from where the Sea's Life was found adrift. She had no signs of trauma, no bruises, torn fingernails, missing hair, etc. She was found wearing a watch, a necklace and a ring. The watch is a particular sticking point as it was a fairly expensive Omega watch, a gift from a former boyfriend. Lana had just spent over $300 getting it cleaned and repaired. She was religious about not wearing her jewelry in the water, always fastening it to the steering wheel of the boat.
She was also found nude. Forensics showed that if she had clothes on, she still would have been wearing them when she was found. Since the water temperature was 68 degrees that day, it precludes any notion of an impromptu skinny dip (with her jewerly on?) or sunbathing nude.
The GPS stopped at 1:22 a.m., over 12 hours after the last contact from Sea's Life. First speculation was that it was turned off, but further investigation revealed that the GPS was digitally recorded and loops. It's possible that the GPS turned itself off when looping over what was already recorded.
An alleged witness came forward to report that he had broken up an altercation between Chuck and Lana outside of the Motor City Casino about six weeks before they disappeared. He first claimed Chuck was verbally abusing Lana, both of them very drunk. He later claimed Chuck was physically abusing Lana. He claimed Lana told him she worked as an attorney for the City Of Detroit and told him her name. According to published reports, he identified both Chuck and Lana from pictures. I've seen video clips of this guy and he's about as credible as Kenneth Lay or George W.
Rumors abound here. I will lay out some of these, with no editorial comment.
Lana and Chuck were both drunks. They went off the boat because they were both drunk and overcome with carbon monoxide.
Chuck harmed Lana in someway, knocked her off the boat and wouldn't let her back on. She drowned.
Chuck is still alive, having survived with help from someone else with a boat in the area at the same time, allegedly seen speeding away from the area.
Great Lakes Pirates attempted to steal the boat and were thrwated. Lana and Chuck were drowned in this attempt.
More true crime! Yay!
Posted by: dp | March 27, 2006 at 03:19 PM
He's sleeping with the fishes. She was washed ashore to the make the trail hard to follow.
Martin
P.S. No one will ever know the truth.
Posted by: Martin | April 01, 2006 at 03:00 AM
The details of the murder are vague, but I have little doubt that Chuck Rutherford murdered Lana and is still alive, and that he's being harbored somewhere by his parents. Supporting evidence for Chuck being alive and being harbored by his parents:
1. Chuck's parents WANTED the search for Chuck called off because they know where he is, and they know he's guilty! I mean, come on--he was their SON! Were he my son, I would exhaust every avenue of search! Here's the evidence for their wanting the search called off:
a. As reported in this blog, the Rutherford family turned down an offer to look for their son by helicopter, even though it would not be that expensive.
b. It was reported that an investigator offered his services for free, to look for Chuck. The Rutherfords turned him down.
c. The Rutherfords quickly pushed the courts to have Chuck declared
legally dead. (If he's declared dead, the search would be called off or at least minimized. PLUS, if he's declared dead, they would most likely inherit Chuck's estate, which would give them the funds needed to support Chuck in hiding.)
d. The press reported that C’s family seemed “relieved” when the judge pronounced C dead. Wouldn’t they be crying? Again--it was their SON! They were most likely relieved to know that the searches would be called off, or at least reduced in scope.
e. The Rutherfords refused to allow the Stempiens into the house that Chuck and Lana had shared. What did they have to hide?
f. Mr. Rutherford refused to work with Mr. Stempien to find Chuck. Why wouldn't they want to work together with the Stempiens to find their son? (Unless, as I've claimed, they know where Chuck is and they know he's guilty.)
Posted by: J. King | January 02, 2009 at 02:30 PM