Charles Robert Rutherford was last seen exiting the Presque Isle marina with his Girlfriend, Lana Ann Stempien on a 27-foot Wellcraft Cabin Cruiser named Sea’s Life on the 11th August 2005 at 1.15 PM. Their end destination was  Mackinac Island to the north. This would be the last time anyone saw them but not the last time anyone spoke to them. At 2:07 p.m., Stempien called a relative on her cell phone and said she and Rutherford were a few hours from Mackinac Island. This was the last phone call from them. They never arrived at  Mackinac Island and were reported missing on the 12th of August 2005.

Charles Robert Rutherford Missing

That same day the Sea’s Life was found under suspicious circumstances. The boat was in neutral and about ten miles from Mackinac Island. Weirdly the radio was playing, the lights were off plus the swim ladder was up. There was a 20-foot line floating off the back of the boat. The boat was empty and there were no signs of Rutherford or Stempien anywhere. The couple’s cell phones, their shoes and life preservers were still on board. Interestingly, one of the knobs from the instrument panel had come off and was found embedded in the sole of Stempien’s shoe.

Lana Ann Stempien’s Body Found

Two weeks after Charles Robert Rutherford went missing, Lana’s body would be found. Her body was washed ashore by Hammond Bay. An autopsy found she drowned and had an elevated level of carbon monoxide. She had a little alcohol in her blood but barely enough to register. It was theorized she drowned whilst swimming near the boar which is how she had elevated levels of carbon monoxide. Authorities would later state, “There was no evidence of a struggle on the boat or any trauma to Stempien’s body, and it is likely that she and Rutherford drowned accidentally. Rutherford is still missing and his disappearance remains under investigation.”

Vanished.us Says

Who writes these reports and how dumb must they be? The only way one of the knobs off the instrument panel would become lodged in the sole of her shoe would be if she was kicking about in a struggle and her shoe landed on a knob. It must have been some force to become lodged in her sole. Just because there is no sign of a struggle doesn’t mean to say the place wasn’t cleaned up after. The real question is where is Charles Robert Rutherford. Was he picked up by another boat and started a new life or did he die on the same day? What do you think? Have your say in the Vanished Forums. Want to read more about Crater Lake? Charles McCullar also vanished here.