Found Deceased: Wade Steffey - IN - 1/13/07

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The Steffey search: A timeline

STAFF REPORTS

Since Purdue University freshman Wade S. Steffey was reported missing Jan. 16, hundreds of police, workers and volunteers have searched campus, woods and fields for clues to his whereabouts. On Monday, a body was found in Owen Hall that may be that of Steffey.

Details of the case:

WEEK ONE

Friday, Jan. 12: Purdue freshman Wade S. Steffey, 19, has dinner at Ford Dining Hall. At 8:30 p.m., he withdraws $50 from an ATM in the dining hall. Later he attends a party at Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, 900 David Ross Road, WL.

Saturday, Jan. 13: Steffey leaves the party and goes to Owen Hall to retrieve a coat he left in a friend's room. At 12:31 a.m., he places a call to an Owen Hall resident, asking to be let in. There is no answer. Witnesses later describe seeing a man matching Steffey's description outside Owen Hall. He is not seen again. Temperatures that night dip to 36 degrees.

Tuesday, Jan. 16: Steffey's roommate in Cary Quadrangle, Ben Buckner, returns to school after a three-day holiday weekend. Not finding Steffey, he calls his roommate's parents. They report their son missing. Buckner creates a discussion group at Facebook | Welcome to Facebook! to spread the word of his roommate's disappearance. Meanwhile, the Wabash River, swollen by recent rains, crests at 20.41 feet, which is 9.41 feet above flood stage.

Wednesday, Jan. 17: As the news media picks up the story, Steffey's cell phone emits its last signal from an area in the northeastern corner of campus. More than 400 volunteers on Thursday help search for items of clothing, cell phone, identification or other personal effects. The search fails to yield clues.

Friday, Jan. 19: Police and conservation officers in boats search the slowly receding Wabash River and its banks from Davis Ferry Park downstream to Fort Ouiatenon.

Saturday, Jan. 20: More than 300 people attend a brief prayer vigil near the Purdue bell tower at 1:30 p.m., then resume searching. Meanwhile, local police go to Missouri to question two men arrested in connection with a murder in that state. The men are believed to have been in the Lafayette area around the time Steffey was last seen. However, no apparent connection with Steffey is found.

WEEK TWO

Monday, Jan. 22: Search dogs begin checking campus locations, starting with cars parked near Cary Quadrangle. In days to come, dogs also will search near Phi Kappa Theta, Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering and the Purdue north golf course off Lindberg Road.

Tuesday, Jan. 23: The Wade Steffey Volunteer Center opens in The End Zone Cafe at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Wednesday, Jan. 24: The search area expands. Volunteers look for clues as far north as the Celery Bog off Lindberg Road.

Friday, Jan. 26: An Indiana State Police helicopter team joins in the search for clues, covering areas of campus, the Wabash Heritage Trail along the Wabash River, and areas near Lindberg and McCormick roads.

Saturday, Jan. 27: Police and volunteers search retention ponds using boats and sonar.

WEEK THREE

Monday, Jan. 29: Purdue police ask owners of rural property to allow volunteers to search private properties on foot, with all-terrain vehicles and/or on horseback. Purdue takes over responsibility of running the volunteer center.

Tuesday, Jan. 30: Hikers discover a man's body along the Wabash Heritage Trail near the West Lafayette Wastewater Treatment Plant. Police determine the body is not that of Wade Steffey but a man who had committed suicide less than 24 hours earlier.

Saturday, Feb. 3: Braving bitter cold, search parties on foot, horseback and all-terrain vehicles scour banks along either side of the Wabash River.

WEEK FOUR

Saturday, Feb. 10: A prayer vigil was held at Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington. More than 200 family members and friends were in attendance to pray for Steffey.

WEEK FIVE

Saturday, Feb. 17: A benefit concert was held at Puccini's in West Lafayette to help raise money for the Wade Steffey reward fund. More than 220 people were in attendance, and more than $1,000 was raised.

WEEK SIX

Friday, Feb. 23: Billboards featuring Wade Steffey's name and face start popping up around Lafayette and Bloomington. The billboards give Steffey's name and the number of the Purdue Police Department, asking anyone with information to call.

WEEK SEVEN

Sunday, Feb. 25: The CBS show Without a Trace features Wade Steffey. The show, a fictional drama, works with the FBI to feature a real missing person with each episode.

Monday, Feb. 26: The parents of Wade Steffey appear on the CBS Early Show to talk about the search on national television.

Tuesday, Feb. 27: A search is called off after organizers and volunteers who plan to primarily use ATV's discover that driving the vehicles on public roads is illegal.

Wednesday, March 1: Host of a CNN Headline News legal analysis program Nancy Grace interviews Steffey's parents about their son's disappearance.

WEEK NINE

Sunday, March 17: A search focusing on the area of Indiana 26 is held with more than 60 volunteers in attendance.

WEEK TEN

Monday, March 19: Purdue workers discover an unidentified body in an electrical utility room at Owen Hall, the residence hall where Steffey was last seen. Steffey's parents in Bloomington are notified and summoned. Purdue officials said the identity of the body may not be released until today.
Journal and Courier Online - News

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BoilerStation - Purdue University News, Sports, and Information from the Journal and Courier.

Discovery of body could be 'at least an answer'
Closure may come today for Steffey family, friends

03/20/07

Six years ago, 19-year-old Jason Jolkowski disappeared from his Nebraska home.

His younger brother, Michael, was the last to see him -- outside dragging the trash cans up from the curb while waiting for a carpool ride to his part-time job. No clues have surfaced in his case since.

Families and friends of missing persons live in a suspended reality, holding out hope for a positive outcome no matter how long a disappearance may last, explained Melissa Nelson, bereavement coordinator for St. Elizabeth's Hospice program.

But answers may come today to those connected to 19-year-old Wade Steffey, who has been missing from Purdue University since Jan. 13. Officials hope to identify a body found on campus Monday near where Steffey was last seen.

"I've worked with hundreds of families across the country and even when they have a terrible answer, they always say, 'At least we have an answer,' " said Kelly Jolkowski, Jason's mother. "They always say the not knowing is the worst part."

Jolkowski's parents have turned their tragedy into a campaign pushing for legislation in all 50 states to improve the law enforcement community's ability to locate and ensure a safe return of missing persons. That work connected Kelly Jolkowski with Dale Steffey, Wade's father, earlier this year.

"I told Dale that I admired him," Jolkowski said, referring to e-mail contact she's had with the Bloomington family. "He hasn't been in the situation that long, but he's out there publicly speaking. I don't know if that early in I would have been able to do that."

During the first few months of her son's disappearance, Jolkowski said her life felt surreal. She recalls looking inside every car she passed to see who was inside. She kept the phone with her at all times -- just in case -- and broke down in tears when she saw the first story about him on the local news.

"Life is never normal again," she said. "It's really just an indescribable nightmare. Every night you go to bed and you just don't know: Where is he? Is someone hurting him? ... And you don't know what you're grieving for."

Jolkowski was shocked to learn of the body found on campus Monday but said she hopes it brings answers to Steffey's family.

"Once the body is identified, there's still going to be some shock and disbelief. The reality is just so hard to accept," Nelson said. "There may be some relief that the body is found ... but this is not the outcome they'd hoped for."

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Breaking News | News & Media | Latest Current - FOXNews.com

Breaking News >> Coroner IDs Body as Missing Purdue Student; Rules Death Accidental

Story to follow

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Officials identify body as Steffey - NEWS

Officials identify body as Steffey.
Purdue student electrocuted in utility room.


3/20/07

WEST LAFAYETTE - A body found inside a dormitory's locked, high-voltage utility room has been identified as a 19-year-old Purdue University student who vanished more than two months ago, a university official said Tuesday.

The Tippecanoe County coroner said the body found Monday by a college maintenance worker investigating reports of a "pinging" or "popping" sound is that of Wade Steffey, a freshman from Bloomington who disappeared Jan. 13 after leaving a fraternity party.

Norberg said Steffey had been fatally shocked when he entered the utility room in an apparent attempt to enter Owen Hall to retrieve his coat. It appeared he tripped and fell onto a power transformer.

"He is believed to have died instantly," she said.

[align=center]Click on the link provided above to read the complete news article.[/align]

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Friends, Family Remember Purdue Student - Local News

Friends, Family Remember Purdue Student
Services Held For Wade Steffey

POSTED: 5:16 pm EDT March 25, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Visitation was held Sunday evening and a Monday funeral is set for the missing Purdue student who was found earlier this week on campus.

Investigators said they believe Wade Steffey, 19, tried to take a shortcut to his dormitory and accidentally electrocuted himself in a room that is off-limits to students.

Steffey's body was discovered on Monday after he had been missing for about two months.

Funeral services will take at 11 a.m. Monday at the Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington.

[Kathylene]

Community Pays Respects To Purdue Student

March 25, 2007 09:44 PM CDT

By Jennifer McGilvray
News 8 @ 11:00

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sunday was a community's first chance to pay respects as family members held a viewing for missing Purdue student Wade Steffey.

Many of the visitors were just trying to stay strong for the family, and be there for support.

"Dale and Dawn are so grateful for having some sort of closure to this whole situation, and I think the whole community needed to have this sort of closure," family friend Martina Celerin said.

Parents Dawn Adams and Dale Steffey finally know what happened to their son, Wade Steffey.

A tragic accident took place on Purdue's campus. From what police can piece together, Steffey walked into an unlocked electrical room after leaving a fraternity party. His death, they believe, was instantaneous.

For more than two months, family, friends, and even those who didn't know Steffey, searched the campus.

Finally, Steffey was found, 50 yards away from where he was last reported to have been seen, standing outside a dorm.

"I've been angry, you know, just as a father, imagining if one of my kids were missing and your mind thinks all the worse things," family friend Matt Bailey said,

Sunday was the first opportunity, the community could say good-bye.

Family friends commented on the parents' strength during these tough times.

Strength, they admire, but most admit, they could not muster, especially after losing a son.

"The amount they are willing to share with the local community, because I think there is a lot of us really feeling a lot of pain with them and want to reach out to them and show them that we are there with them," Celerin said.
WISH-TV: News and Weather for Indianapolis, Indiana - Community Pays Respects To Purdue Student

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Funeral for Missing Purdue Student

March 26, 2007 02:26 PM CDT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Friends and family today remembered a 19-year-old Purdue student who was found dead last week after being missing for more than two months.

About 300 people gathered at a Bloomington church for the funeral service for Wade Steffey.

Family members say they are starting to accept his death.

Steffey's mother, Dawn Adams, says she hopes that the memory of her son will help his friends reach for their dreams.

Steffey disappeared January 13 after attending a fraternity party. His body was found last week in a dormitory utility room.
WANE-TV Coverage You Can Count On: Funeral for Missing Purdue Student

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Mom to mourners: Be inspired by Purdue freshman's life

Monday, March 26, 2007 3:44 PM CDT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The friends of Purdue University freshman Wade Steffey should use his life to inspire them to reach their own dreams, his mother said at his funeral Monday.

About 300 mourners attended the service for the 19-year-old at the Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington, one week after his body was discovered on Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

"To the young people, I want to ask them to take Wade with them into their futures," said Dawn Adams, Wade Steffey's mother. "The future is a gift, and I hope his memory allows them not to be afraid to reach out for their dreams."

Steffey was fatally shocked Jan. 13 when he entered a Purdue dormitory, Owen Hall, through an unlocked exterior door to a utility room and came in contact with an electrical transformer, authorities have said. Investigators believe he was trying to find a way back into the dormitory to retrieve a jacket he left there.

After weeks of searches of the campus and surrounding area, Steffey's body finally was found in the utility room on March 19.

Rabbi Mira Wasserman eulogized Steffey as a young man who was brilliant, competitive, outgoing and loyal to his friends. The Bloomington High School South graduate and National Merit Scholar was majoring in aviation technology.

"Wade's life was short, but his life was whole. By the measure of love, his life was brimming," Wasserman said.

His father and Adams' husband, Dale Steffey, also talked about his son's legacy before the service.

"From the beginning, this has been a story of people reaching out to people _ parents checking on their children and children calling their parents to let them know they're OK," Dale Steffey said.
nwi.com :: news

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3/26/07

Wade Steffey's family, friends remember the Purdue freshman

BLOOMINGTON - As Wade Steffey was lowered into the ground today, friends and family took turns pouring shovels full of dirt on his casket, something Rabbi Myra Wasserman called a "final act of kindness."

Steffey, a 19-year-old Purdue University freshman who was accidentally killed when he entered a high-voltage electrical closet in January, was buried today in Bloomington. Steffey was missing for nine weeks before his body was found last week.

Wasserman said Steffey had shown countless people kindness in his life and helping to bury him was something those people could do for him.

Visibly shaken family members were silent during the burial and left quickly afterward. Others, including the cross country team from Bloomington High School South of which Steffey was a member, huddled on one knee and prayed.

"We went our separate ways after graduation," said Chris Wright, 22, of Bloomington. "It brought a lot of us together."
Journal and Courier Online - PM Update

[Kathylene]

3/26/07

Funeral Service for Wade Steffey

Friends and family Monday remembered a 19-year-old Purdue student who was found dead last week after being missing for more than two months.

About 300 people gathered at a Bloomington church for the funeral service for Wade Steffey.

Family members say they are starting to accept his death.

Steffey's mother, Dawn Adams, says she hopes that the memory of her son will help his friends reach for their dreams.

Steffey disappeared January 13th after attending a fraternity party. His body was found last week in a dormitory utility room.
News::Funeral Service for Wade Steffey

[Denise]

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/NEWS0501/70602021/1152/NEWS

New Steffey documents revealed
STAFF REPORTS

Nineteen-year-old Wade S. Steffey, a freshman studying aviation technology at Purdue University, went missing in the early morning hours of Jan. 13.

About nine weeks later, his body was found just 50 yards from where he was last seen in an electrical vault at Owen Hall.

Though the coroner ruled Steffey was accidentally electrocuted, several questions remain: How did he get inside the room? Was he impaired? Is the university accountable?

After Steffey's body was found, the Journal & Courier submitted a lengthy request under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.

Purdue on Friday handed over 600 documents related to Steffey's disappearance and death. The Journal & Courier is reviewing the documents, which include e-mail correspondence among university officials and his family.

[Denise]

http://www.fox28.com/News/index.php?ID=19066

Parents of Purdue Student Electrecuted Obtain Autopsy Report  
The parents of a Purdue University student who was shocked to death in a high-voltage campus utility room have obtained a copy of their son's autopsy report.

Wade Steffey's mother, Dawn Adams, says she and her husband received the document "two or three weeks ago."

She declined to reveal its contents, which include a toxicology report.

The Tippecanoe County coroner's office has ruled his death an accidental electrocution.

The 19-year-old Bloomington native vanished January 13th after witnesses saw him trying to enter Purdue's Owen Hall to retrieve his coat from the dormitory after a fraternity party.

He was found fatally shocked March 19th in a high-voltage utility room.

[Kelly]

http://www.purdueexponent.com/index.php/module/Section/section_id/4?module=article&story_id=6640

Steffey's parents reach settlement with Purdue

By Tim O'Connor
Publication Date: 08/22/07
Senior Writer ÂÂ

INDIANAPOLIS - The parents of Wade Steffey, a freshman who died of electrocution on campus last January, have come to a half million dollar settlement with Purdue.

The announcement comes months after the Steffey family sought legal counsel related to their son's death.

Steffey, 19, a freshman in the college of technology, was accidentally electrocuted in a high-voltage utility vault in Owen Hall on Jan. 13. It was nine weeks before his body was discovered in the room by a maintenance worker on March 19.

Although a 38-page independent review of Steffey's death, paid for by Purdue and completed by Rimkus Consulting Firm on July 2, indicated that Steffey may have been intoxicated at the time of his death, one of the family's lawyers disputed this claim.

"We're convinced (intoxication) played no role whatsoever in the occurrence," said Scott Montross of the firm Montross, Miller, Muller, Mendelson and Kennedy. "Our toxicology experts, which were not hired by Purdue, indicated that it would be impossible to support the proposition that Wade was intoxicated."

Steffey's father, Dale Steffey, said his intent was not to blame the University, but to make sure Purdue was held accountable.

"We asked the University to give us answers and accept responsibility if responsibility fell there," he said. "And responsibility did fall there."

The maximum amount recoverable for wrongful death is limited to $500,000 by a state statute, said Montross.

"Purdue paid $500,000," he said. "I don't think there's any interpretation that I could come up with other than the fact that, yes, they did accept responsibility, appropriately so.

"But also, to their credit, to step up and recognize that there were errors made and they've been very professional about this since the beginning of our ordeal."

Purdue has since taken steps in all buildings that house electrical equipment to make sure these rooms are safe, including the addition of warning signs on high-voltage areas and improved locking mechanisms. However, the Steffey family expressed concerns that other universities have not gotten the message.

"If this kind of situation could arise at a university like Purdue, with its reputation for engineering and technology, and there are over 3,000 colleges and universities in this country," Dale said, "then it is surely not the only place where this story lies."

He said educating other schools could be one of the goals of the philanthropic foundation that will be paid for with the settlement money.

The Steffey family's plans of education don't stop at the door of danger; they extend to academics. In addition to the settlement, Purdue is endowing $100,000 for the Wade Steffey Memorial Scholarship. Wade's parents will work directly with Purdue's Division of Financial Aid to award select incoming Indiana students with the scholarship.

"The settlement provides financial compensation for the family and also assures that Wade's memory will live on through the students who have access to a Purdue education because of the scholarship," Joe Bennett, vice president of university relations, said in a press release.

Wade's parents and their lawyers stressed the scholarship was a solid foundation of cooperation from this point forward.

"There are so many good people who helped us," Dale said. "We thank them and look forward to working with Purdue. It was never our intention to cause the University any harm."

Although Wade's loved ones hope the settlement will help them to move on, their loss remains. Dawn Adams, Wade's mother, reflected that the investigation of her son's death allowed her to learn a lot more about him, and that she and her husband remain proud parents.

"We continue to love him, miss him, grieve him," she said.

[Linda]

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/NEWS0501/708290322/1152/NEWS


Lawsuits against third parties still possible in Wade Steffey case

 08-29-07

Last week's settlement between Wade Steffey's family and Purdue University looked like the last chapter in the story of the student's on-campus death.

It might not be.

Clauses in the agreement between Purdue and Steffey's parents, Dawn Adams and Dale Steffey, rule out further legal action against the university, but not outside third parties. Dale Steffey and Adams could still file lawsuits against others if they believe they share part of the blame in their son's death.

Dale Steffey said Tuesday that he couldn't rule out further legal action.
"The lawyers have some other potential third parties in mind, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it," Dale Steffey said.
Wade Steffey was a 19-year-old freshman who was electrocuted in January in a high-voltage electrical vault at Purdue's Owen Hall. His body was not found for more than two months after exhaustive searches.

A report on the circumstances of his death revealed the door to the vault, which is required by law to be locked, may have been left unlocked or unlatched, allowing Wade Steffey access into the room.

Purdue paid the Steffey family $500,000 last week and started a $100,000 endowment for a scholarship in Wade Steffey's name.
The agreement between the family and Purdue, acquired through an open records request by the Journal & Courier, requires that no further legal action be taken against the university. Also in the agreement, Purdue repeatedly denies any liability or wrongdoing in Wade Steffey's death.

Attorneys for the Steffey family couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Jeffrey Cooke, a personal injury attorney in Lafayette, said the Steffey family's attorneys may be looking at whether an outside contractor ever worked in the electrical vault and may have been liable for the door being open or unlocked.
"You know at your house where you have someone check your heating and air conditioning each year? Maybe Purdue has someone like that," Cooke said.

University spokeswoman Jeanne Norberg said that to the best of her knowledge, the university has not had outside companies do work in the vault.

Cooke said it's also possible the attorneys could be looking at the company that made the lock and latch, but they would have to believe it was made with a faulty design and not just that it had broken.

The family could not sue the last person to enter or exit the room if that person was a Purdue employee. And Dale Steffey said the family would not sue Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, where it's possible Wade Steffey had been drinking alcohol before his death.

[Kelly]

http://www.purdueexponent.org/index.php/module/Section/section_id/11?module=article&story_id=7012

Presentation, Taser demonstration designed to educate shreve residents

By Benjamin Irvin
Publication Date: 09/11/07
Staff Reporter  

Monday night on the first floor of Shreve Hall, two resident assistants volunteered to be tasered by the Purdue University Police Department for the learning purposes of their residents.

"There was an intense, tight feeling," said Cory Nguyen, an RA for Shreve Hall, immediately after being tasered. "I could hardly breath and I couldn't move at all."

Nguyen was one of four RAs who helped bring the safety meeting to the students of Shreve. The purpose of the meeting was to educate students about alcohol awareness and campus safety.

Jesse Singleton, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and an RA at Shreve Hall, helped to plan the event.

"We wanted to do some kind of program that informed students about alcohol awareness and campus safety after the incidents of last year," Singleton said, speaking of the death of Wade Steffey, a Purdue freshman who was missing for nine weeks before his body was found in a high-voltage vault in Owen Residence Hall.

Lt. Michael Boesch of Purdue Police also spoke to students about the consequences of drinking and what could happen if students are arrested. Lt. Kevin Booker of Purdue Police then gave tips to students about protecting themselves while on campus and making sure they don't make themselves targets for robbery or rape.

The officers talked about crimes they had witnessed on campus and what had happened with the students afterward. Booker displayed a short slideshow demonstrating how criminals don't fit a fixed description. He let students guess the charges associated with mug shots of people who had been arrested.

At the end of the presentation, Keene Red Elk of the Purdue Police demonstrated how a taser is used and what the mechanism does to people. Both RAs who volunteered said once was enough and they would never volunteer to be tasered again.

"If I wasn't being held, I would have been on the ground," Nguyen said.