Deadpool1986
Cook with a Mouth
PORTER, IN — The body discovered early Sunday by a fisherman in an Indiana Lake is believed to be missing Kalamazoo Dr. Teleka Patrick, says Jim Carlin, a private investigator hired by her family to assist in the search.
However, Carlin stressed that police have not yet identified the body discovered in Lake Charles in Porter, Ind. around 7:10 a.m. and that his statements only reflect his beliefs.
"That's my position," Carlin said in relation to the identity of the body. "Obviously the family wants to have it confirmed with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office."
A press release issued by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office around 2:30 p.m. confirmed a body was found in the lake around that investigators searched as recently as April 1 without finding any clues as to Patrick's disappearance. The release states the identity of the body is currently unknown and Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas said there will be no further comment at this time.
According to a news release issued by Indiana State Police, the body pulled from the lake by members of its SCUBA team was a woman dressed in dark pants and a dark top. An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.
A call seeking comment from Patrick's parents had not been returned as of 5:20 p.m. Sunday afternoon. While trying to contact Patrick's sister, Tenesha Patrick, a family member answered and told a Gazette reporter that they were waiting for an autopsy to be conducted before confirming anything.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Rick Strong confirmed a body was found Sunday morning on the south side of the lake floating in the water, but said the identity cannot be confirmed until an autopsy is conducted.
"I don't know who was saying she was found," Strong said. "We have not identified her yet."
However, when asked if the body was Patrick's, Strong said it was "a possibility."
"It's what we told (Patrick's) family out of courtesy, is it possible," Strong said. "That's why we called them. But until we do the autopsy, we can't say it's her."
Patrick, 30, went missing nearly 18 weeks ago after working a shift at Borgess Medical Center on Gull Road where she was working as part of the first year of a four-year residency in psychiatry in the Western Michigan University School of Medicine.
On Dec. 5, Patrick got a ride from a co-worker to the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites in downtown Kalamazoo. After unsuccessfully trying to get a room at the hotel with $100 she borrowed from a co-worker, a courtesy shuttle driver gave her a ride back to her Lexus in the Borgess parking lot.
At about 8 p.m., she was seen getting into her car and driving out of the hospital’s parking lot. Just before 10 p.m., Indiana State Police received reports from other drivers stating a Lexus was being driven erratically on westbound I-94.
Not long after, police found Patrick’s car abandoned in a ditch about 30 feet off the highway near mile marker 23, just east of the Porter/Burns Harbor exit.
The car’s keys were missing, but state police investigators in Indiana have said the car was unlocked. Inside the Lexus, police found Patrick’s wallet, credit cards and $7 in cash.
The car’s front tire was flat and State Police Detective Sgt. Rick Strong has said investigators believe the tire had gone flat before the car went into the ditch. Strong also said the car was not traveling at a high speed when it ran off the interstate and investigators found no tire marks to indicate it left the road abruptly.
A working theory among police is that Patrick suffered a mental breakdown that night and may have been headed to a relative’s home in suburban Chicago when her car went off the road.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/04/report_teleka_patrick_may_be_b.html
