Thursday, November 3, 2005

John L. Russell The 27-foot Wellcraft is the boat that Lana Stempien and Charles "Chuck" Rutherford were last seen piloting before they vanished.

Mystery of lawyer's death deepens

Carbon monoxide is found in body, toxicology report shows, providing another clue in tragedy.

By Dorothy Bourdet / The Detroit News

Stempien Previous reports Mystery on Lake Huron Lake search called off for Grosse Pte. Farms lawyer Family seeks answers in drowning GPS clues don't help police in disappearance Body found in search for lost boaters Mystery deepens over couple's fate Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

A toxicology report due out today on the body of Lana Stempien shows the Grosse Pointe Farms attorney had carbon monoxide in her system when she disappeared off a boat and into Lake Huron in August.

While the toxicology does not solve the mystery of what happened to Stempien and her boyfriend, Charles "Chuck" Rutherford, 34, the report provides another clue as to how and why the 35-year-old vanished on Lake Huron between Aug. 11 and 12. Rutherford has not been found.

"I think it helps explain why she could have been incapacitated; an otherwise healthy person drowning in the water," said David Start, a forensic pathologist with Spectrum Blodgett-Health Campus, who performed the official autopsy on Stempien.

Exposure to carbon monoxide reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen and, in low concentrations, can cause flu-like symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and weakness in healthy people, according to the American Lung Association. At very high levels, it can cause loss of consciousness and death.

Stempien's abandoned boat was found adrift Aug. 12, the day after it was expected in Mackinac-- idling, its radio playing, running lights off, life preservers and cell phones still on board.

When Stempien was found, she was wearing nothing but a necklace, an Omega watch and a ring.

While there have been plenty of theories -- from a tragic accident to suspicions of foul play -- no clues have led to any conclusive answer.

Stempien's family, through its attorney, Andrew Jarvis, said Wednesday it has no comment until it sees the toxicology report.

Stempien had at least a 13 percent saturation level of carbon monoxide in her system, but Start said it could have been much higher when she went into the water. A 0.50 level of saturation is lethal. The cause of death was drowning.

Start said negligible amounts of alcohol were found in Stempien.

"That is consistent with post-mortum production of alcohol by bacteria that occurs with decomposition," Start said.

You can reach Dorothy Bourdet at (734) 462-2203 or dbourdet@detnews.com.