Christopher Marks, 12, confirmed dead. MO.

[Lady Cop]

i understand step-dad was feeding beer to 7 children. i hope his ass is in jail tonight. i will wait for tox report on the child, but i will bet he was impaired.

one local, in Patch comments section, says stepdad Todd Combs had been known as a drunken abuser. i do not consider that a fact YET. until i find the evidence.

[Jimbone]

Either way sounds like the step-father better start practicing his anal pucker... he's going to jail.

[Lady Cop]

i've been trying to find a photo of combs. hopefully there will be a booking photo soon.
if the autopsy/tox show the boy was impaired from alcohol, this could well be a manslaughter.
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stlpost-dispatch.com
Combs could not be reached Tuesday. After the boy's body was found, relatives who were holding vigil at the conservation area declined to comment.

Fitch said police will present the case to prosecutors for possible criminal charges.

"This investigation is far from over," Fitch said Tuesday night.

An autopsy of Christopher's body is scheduled for Wednesday but his cause of death may not be available until after toxicology test results come back from the lab, authorities said. Toxicology tests generally take four to six weeks.



some locals' comments here:

http://affton.patch.com/articles/christo...ments_list

[Lady Cop]

it ALWAYS comes to this.

PNC Bank has a memorial account open for those who want to donate to the family of Christopher Marks, the 12-year-old Affton boy found dead in the Meramec River yesterday.

[Cheyne]

I thought that LE was preventing the family and any other volunteers from searching?

Would you let that stop you from searching for your child? I wouldn't & I'd like to see someone try enforcing that with me.

Fair question. I don't know what I would do if my child were missing. I like to think I'd be clear headed and able to think rationally. However, I'd probably be a basket case. I do know that I would not (and haven't) supply teenagers with alcohol anywhere, at any time, much less on a camping trip near a river.

The point I was trying to make was that I find it suspicious that with tracking dogs, infrared heat detectors and trained LE personnel the stepdad just happens to find Chris' body 6 miles downriver. The fact that alcohol was given to several teenagers and Chris makes me suspicious of stepdad's motives and actions.

[RJs-Ex]

some locals' comments here:

http://affton.patch.com/articles/christo...ments_list

A person claiming to know the family made some interesting comments there. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true!

[Donovan]

I saw those. Not very flattering to stepdad.

[Jimbone]

Yep, he's going to need to prepare his anus.

[Midwest Spy]

Would you let that stop you from searching for your child? I wouldn't & I'd like to see someone try enforcing that with me.

IMO, what was happening here, was that LE may have suspected a crime had been committed. As LC said they didn't want a crime scene possibly being compromised.

In my life, if one of my kids went missing somehow, of course I'd never stop looking for them. LE wouldn't have to tell me to stop though, as I'd never harm them.

[Lady Cop]

KMOV
A family member said some of the family is now pushing for police to file charges in what they call a criminal investigation.

More details were released about the case on Wednesday.

High Ridge Deputy Chief Tom Lakin says he was surprised when Marks’ body turned up six miles down the shallow river.

“Even if the victim had floated, I just don’t see how it wouldn’t have gotten through some of those jetties where it was six inches deep,” said Lakin.

[RJs-Ex]

What are people's theories as to what happened here? Authorities seem to be saying Chris couldn't have just drowned and ended up where he did, but his sister said she saw him waist-deep in the river, looked away, looked back and Chris was gone. From his sister's account, who as far as we know has no reason to lie about it, it sounds like Chris simply drowned. But this stepfather is fishy...

[Donovan]

If sister was threatened she might stick to a story, but there are a lot of holes in this one. There's a lot of gossip going around about stepdad.

[Cheyne]

Preliminary results say the Chris Marks drowned.

Read more

The official autopsy of Christopher Marks, a 12-year-old from Affton found two evenings after he went missing Sunday in the Meramec River and conservation area at the border of Eureka and Pacific at around 7:30 p.m., is awaiting toxicology which takes weeks, said officials.

However, St. Louis County Police Office and spokesperson Rick Eckhard told Patch on Thursday that preliminary reports indicate that Marks drowned.

[Cheyne]

These are the theories I am working with. They can change when new info is released, and are my opinion only.

Theories...
1. The drowning happened as it's been reported:
A. Stepdad Todd took teenagers and Chris out camping at the River.
B. Todd brought beer along and either allowed the kids to drink or became intoxicated enough that the kids were able to sneak beer and drink it.
C. Chris wanted to play on the rope swing, got into the water alone, hit his head or was swept away by the current and drowned.
D. Chris' body floated down 6 miles of river and came to rest at the boat dock.
E. Todd got on his jetski to search and found Chris' body near the dock.

2. The drowning happened, but someone tried to keep LE from finding Chris' body immediately:
A, B, C would remain the same as the first theory.
D. Todd finds Chris' body almost immediately.
E. Fearing that Chris will have alcohol in his bloodstream, Todd alerts the teens to look for Chris, takes Chris and hides him near the boat dock (he would need to use his jetski or take the car as it is 6 miles away.)
F. Todd retrieves Chris' body at the boat dock and claims he "found" him there.

3. Todd wanted to "teach Chris a lesson" about swimming alone [or any number of things] and it went terribly wrong.
A and B would remain the same.
C. Chris wanted to play on the rope swing, Todd told him not to. Chris gets in the water and is waist deep when Todd grabs him around the legs and pulls him under. Todd holds Chris under the water to scare him, and Chris drowns while under.
D. Todd realizes that Chris is dead.
E and F remain the same.

Of the three, I think #2 is most likely. The fact that Todd found Chris is such a huge coincidence that it makes it suspicious. Drunk or buzzed teens would be easy to distract, and if everyone was looking for Chris, Todd could get his body downriver and return before LE was called (2.5 hours after Chris disappeared).

[Lady Cop]

where has it been reported that combs was giving TEENS beer? all teens and Chris?
all i know is i go where the evidence leads. 6 miles downriver with 6" water depth? don't buy it.

and letting the body wait for discovery (someone's theory) does not change blood alcohol at time of death.

so we have cause of death...drowning
but we don't have manner of death until tox is in.



is everyone in MO a fat sweathog?

[ScientistsCanvas]

is everyone in MO a fat sweathog?

I'm not.

[sharit]

where has it been reported that combs was giving TEENS beer? all teens and Chris?
all i know is i go where the evidence leads. 6 miles downriver with 6" water depth? don't buy it.

and letting the body wait for discovery (someone's theory) does not change blood alcohol at time of death.

so we have cause of death...drowning
but we don't have manner of death until tox is in.



is everyone in MO a fat sweathog?

Just the ones on welfare. They are the only ones eating good these days.

[Duchess]

*snicker*

[nrkerr]

is everyone in MO a fat sweathog?

I'm not.

You've seen my picture...I don't believe I am either.

[Lady Cop]

video from a public vigil last night.

http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?b...0530106001