Body of missing Ste. Gen boy found

The body of a missing Ste. Genevieve, Mo., teen and his car were found Monday at the bottom of a lake in what investigators believe to be an accident.

Wade Lurk, 17, had been missing since April 1 when he was last seen at a party with about 40 other teenagers in the Goose Creek Lake development, on the border of Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties.

Since then, investigators scoured both counties, the development, Goose Creek and the Mississippi River for the boy and his missing 1990 Nissan Stanza.

Around 11:20 a.m. Monday, fishermen on Goose Creek Lake contacted authorities to tell them they saw a submerged vehicle, according to Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff Gary Stolzer

Divers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash team were called to the lake, and at 4 p.m., the Nissan carrying Lurk's body was pulled from the water, Stolzer said. The vehicle had been under 15 feet of water and was about 75 feet from the shore.

Police were processing the evidence as a crime scene, but Stolzer said the death was likely an accident.

"We do not think there was foul play," he said, adding suicide was unlikely.

Lurk was last seen sleeping in his car around 4:30 a.m. April 1, something Stolzer said was common for the teen following a party at Goose Creek.

The night before he went missing, Lurk told people he would go home early in the morning following the party to mow lawns.

Investigators believe he may have taken a wrong turn while leaving the development between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. April 1 and accidentally drove down a roadway that dead ends at a boat ramp leading into the lake, Stolzer said.

A side-view mirror had been knocked off the Nissan by a retaining wall, providing evidence the vehicle drove into the waters there, he said.

Lurk was seen drinking alcohol at the party, which could have added to the difficulty in finding his way out of Goose Creek in the early morning hours, according to Stolzer.

"There's a lot of winding, hilly roads out there," he said.

An autopsy was scheduled for 9 a.m. today in Farmington, Mo.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 127