Charles Robert Rutherford and Lana Ann Stempien vanished on 11 August 2005 after leaving the Presque Isle marina aboard a 27‑foot Wellcraft cabin cruiser named Sea’s Life. They departed at 1:15 p.m., heading north toward Mackinac Island. This was the last confirmed sighting of the couple—though not the last contact.
At 2:07 p.m., Lana called a relative and said she and Charles were “a few hours” from Mackinac Island. That was the final communication from either of them. They never arrived, and the pair were reported missing on 12 August 2005.
Discovery of the Sea’s Life
Later that same day, the Sea’s Life was located under circumstances that can only be described as suspicious. The boat was drifting in neutral, roughly ten miles from Mackinac Island. The radio was playing. The lights were off. The swim ladder was up. A 20‑foot line trailed off the stern.
The vessel was empty.
Inside, investigators found the couple’s cell phones, their shoes, and their life preservers—items that should have been with them if they had gone into the water. Even stranger, a knob from the instrument panel had broken off and was discovered embedded in the sole of Lana’s shoe.
Lana Ann Stempien’s Body Found
Two weeks after the disappearance, Lana’s body washed ashore near Hammond Bay. The autopsy concluded she drowned and had elevated carbon monoxide levels, with only trace alcohol in her system. Authorities theorised she had been swimming near the boat, inhaled exhaust, and drowned.
Their official statement: “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.”
Charles Rutherford has never been found. His case remains open.
Vanished.us Says
The official explanation strains credibility. A knob from the instrument panel doesn’t simply “embed” itself in the sole of a shoe. That requires force—force consistent with kicking, bracing, or struggling. And the absence of visible signs of a struggle doesn’t rule out the possibility that the scene was cleaned or staged.
The real question is: where is Charles Robert Rutherford? Did he leave that boat alive? Was he picked up by another vessel? Did he vanish the same day Lana died—or did something else entirely happen out there?
Share your theories in the Vanished Forums.
If you’re interested in another disappearance connected to a lake, read about Charles McCullar— who vanished at Crater Lake under equally strange circumstances.