No new leads in investigation of missing teen

STE GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Police continued Thursday searching for a missing Ste. Genevieve teenager but had no new leads in the investigation.

Wade M. Lurk, 17, was last seen sleeping in his car around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at Goose Creek, a campsite near the border of Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties, where he had been attending a party, according to Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff Gary Stolzer.

A campsite gate guard told police he saw Lurk's car drive out of the area at approximately 5:30 a.m., Stolzer said. But the guard wasn't certain if it was Lurk's car or if he was inside.

Investigators continued to search rural areas in Ste. Genevieve County but had not been able to find any sign of the missing teen, said Ste. Genevieve County Sgt. Mike Stacey. "We're still following up leads and this is an active investigation," Stacey said.

Messages from Lurk's friends and classmates clutter his MySpace.com Web site. A majority of the messages plead for the teen to return home safely.

One such message reads: "Wade come on buddy u have to pull through this. Plz come back. I can't deal with this anymore. I miss you so much. Find the strength to get through this, you're in mine as well as hundreds of other people's prayers."

Cathy Peirick, co-director of the Vincentian Marian Youth Association in Perryville, Mo., said Lurk has been a member of the group since it began more than two years ago.

"He's been on a couple of mission trips with us," Peirick said. "It's so sad, and it's really hard for us to believe."

The Vincentian Marian Youth Association is holding a prayer mass for Lurk at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Shrine Church in Perryville. The mass is open to the public.

Lurk is described as 5-feet-8 inches tall, 150 to 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. His vehicle, a 1990 Nissan Stanza with Missouri license plates 720-WWC, was also missing as of Thursday evening.

Anyone with information should call the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff's Department at (573) 883-5820.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246