Found Deceased MO - Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, Monroe Co, 12 Nov 2018

[holtzmann]

I definitely would like to know if the groceries were still in the car, what state they were in (e.g. dumped out, stacked neatly). I'm also curious as to what indicates that the keys were deliberately placed somewhere inthe car — where? To what end?

It doesn't sound like anyone was expecting her to be in the area of the state park. Possibly an abduction from the Whole Foods lot? Forced into her car and made to drive it there?

If that were the case, whatever happened to her didn't leave any signs of a struggle in the car, at least judging by the information out at the moment. It must have happened elsewhere.

 

[courtbby]

What a beautiful soul! I hope she's found soon.

Just a thought, IMO, the family seems fairly well off - her father designed a church (so he's in architecture, which means he most likely has money) and she is a ballet dancer. It costs quite a pretty penny to train a child in ballet - she probably started off fairly young considering how good she is (in 2012 she placed in the top 12 in the Youth America Grand Prix Semifinals).

That all said, I wonder if it's possible that this could be an abduction maybe by someone who knows the family (either personally or knows of them/the fact they have money) and is trying to get a ransom for her return. We haven't heard anything about a ransom note yet but this is only the second day - maybe one will pop up somewhere? I'm holding onto hope that if that was the case, she could be returned safely. I really do not think this was a self-harm incident (beautiful girl, a lot going for her) or she had an accident in the park (she's athletic so it's unlikely, though not impossible, for her to have fallen/hit her head/etc.). Curious how far she lives from the park and if she's been there before - if she's frequented the park (or the park is small in size), then it's also unlikely she got lost.

 

[cybervampira]

Highway Patrol leads search for missing ballerina

[...]

The search for Stroik was suspended Tuesday due to darkness. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators were assisted on Tuesday by representatives of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Conservation, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe City Fire Department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Monroe City Ambulance District.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric F. Brown said on Wednesday that the search for Stroik was scheduled to get under way just after 9 a.m., using the boat ramp where her vehicle was discovered as the starting point.

“We are staging to brief searchers from emergency personnel to volunteers,” Brown said. “They will spread out and continue the search. Her friends and family will be here, and we have cadets form Moberly Police Academy.”

 

[sloane7777]

I just think the park is a car dump spot I don't think anyone would take her that far.

 

[tokyorose]

So we know what we're dealing with here. Mark Twain lake is a big lake. The lake is 29 square miles with a maximum depth of 85 ft. There are three boat ramps for lake access. Only one has a lit parking lot.. and two of them seem to be directly accessible to the highway.

 

[tokyorose]

I just think the park is a car dump spot I don't think anyone would take her that far.

I tend to agree..but why on Earth would you leave the phone? Once police have it they can get into it and use the phone's history to plot the route to how the car got there.. seems incredibly stupid. Also would need more than one perp because you need to get out of there somehow.

 

[doublestop]

If she is a professional dancer with the St. Louis Ballet, she could well have been seen onstage by someone who developed an unhealthy obsession with her, and saw his chance to grab her.

 

[tokyorose]

If she is a professional dancer with the St. Louis Ballet, she could well have been seen onstage by someone who developed an unhealthy obsession with her, and saw his chance to grab her.

Then this person abducted her and drove her car over 100 miles away, left it near a lake, locked the car, left the phone inside and the keys next to the car? This doesn't make sense to me. If she was still alive and this was just a place to dump the car.. why lock the car and leave the phone in it? Why not just chuck both into the lake? And once you dump the car how do you get out of there?

 

[holtzmann]

I have to say, this doesn't feel like a stalker case to me. Unless she was known to routinely go to that Whole Foods at that specific time on a regular basis, it just feels like it would be hugely risky to follow her around hoping for the right moment.

Her car was parked in a boat dock lot... Looking at maps of the area it's not inconceivable that perhaps, if someone did abduct her, they might be familiar with the area, or possibly have a boat docked there. The park is probably not super crowded given the cold weather in MO recently, but it's not like it's hard to request an Uber or a taxi.

It's hard to say if she was possibly intent on self-harm, given that we don't know her medical history or what she bought at Whole Foods (clue in the contents of her purchases, maybe?). The neat arrangement of the items in her car does indicate a finality, though. She could have driven herself there, tied up loose ends, and committed some self-injury.

Assuming this wasn't self-inflicted, though, I do think that either she had to be already incapable of putting up a fight by the time of its arrival at the dock, or else she was taken somewhere away from it by force, and the scene was able to be cleaned up later, without anyone noticing anything amiss in the meantime.

 

[tokyorose]

I have to say, this doesn't feel like a stalker case to me. Unless she was known to routinely go to that Whole Foods at that specific time on a regular basis, it just feels like it would be hugely risky to follow her around hoping for the right moment.

Her car was parked in a boat dock lot... Looking at maps of the area it's not inconceivable that perhaps, if someone did abduct her, they might be familiar with the area, or possibly have a boat docked there. The park is probably not super crowded given the cold weather in MO recently, but it's not like it's hard to request an Uber or a taxi.

It's hard to say if she was possibly intent on self-harm, given that we don't know her medical history or what she bought at Whole Foods (clue in the contents of her purchases, maybe?). The neat arrangement of the items in her car does indicate a finality, though. She could have driven herself there, tied up loose ends, and committed some self-injury.

Assuming this wasn't self-inflicted, though, I do think that either she had to be already incapable of putting up a fight by the time of its arrival at the dock, or else she was taken somewhere away from it by force, and the scene was able to be cleaned up later, without anyone noticing anything amiss in the meantime.

Sitting on my hands here, but MOO there will be more news very shortly. MOO but I am thinking this is a suicide. Prayers for her family.

 

[tiffkinsadder]

I hope she is found safe and soon!

 

[zecats]

Sitting on my hands here, but MOO there will be more news very shortly. MOO but I am thinking this is a suicide. Prayers for her family.

Or maybe a voluntary disappearance....If she was possibly unhappy with her life and under pressure to continue it as is. She might leave things tidy, leave behind her keys and phone in that case too. IMO

Hoping this is the case and not abduction or suicide.

 

[HayLouise]

@KHQA is on scene at Mark Twain St. Park at the command center with multiple police agencies in the search for missing person Raffaella Maria Stroik. Raffaella’s car was found unattended at Mark Twain Lake State Park Nov. 12th. Stand by for latest update on search efforts.



Marcus Espinoza on Twitter

 

[cybervampira]

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[zecats]

Search underway for missing St. Louis ballet dancer after car found at rural Missouri boat ramp

 

[MissMalowe]

If it weren't for the visit to Whole Foods I would have thought self-harm, but why go shopping if you are going to do that? A carjacker wouldn't have left the keys like that. She seems to be a very talented and focused young woman, this is just so strange.

I agree. She seems focused and being a professional ballerina can be very stressful, but as you mentioned, why stop at Whole Foods first if it was self-harm or escaping for awhile?

The keys are perplexing. Is there an office for the Park Rangers nearby? If the keys were found by an uninvolved party, is it odd they would place the keys intentionally on/near the car so that the owner would easily spot them? I would be more likely to turn them in to the park office/employee or the police if it was after hours, but maybe others (or at least whoever innocently found these keys, if that's the case wasn't worried about someone other than the owner finding them or was in too much of a hurry to do anything more?

I thought perhaps a carjacker picked a specific location for someone else to pick the car up, but that's probably not likely, right? If so, they probably would have had the keys inside and just instructed that it wasunlocked and the keys were in it?

The keys are throwing me for a loop.

 

[jash]

I don't have a theory yet. I wonder if she was meeting someone there, either to go for a hike or out on a boat. Based on the description of the clothing she had on at Whole Foods, it might be considered appropriate for a day outdoors. I'm sure police have by now gained access to her phone to check her apps and messages.

Not sure what to make of leaving her things behind. If she was going to hurt herself, why not just leave the car unlocked with the key inside. But if she was just going for a hike/walk, why not take the phone and keys.

 

[zecats]

I agree. She seems focused and being a professional ballerina can be very stressful, but as you mentioned, why stop at Whole Foods first if it was self-harm or escaping for awhile?

The keys are perplexing. Is there an office for the Park Rangers nearby? If the keys were found by an uninvolved party, is it odd they would place the keys intentionally on/near the car so that the owner would easily spot them? I would be more likely to turn them in to the park office/employee or the police if it was after hours, but maybe others (or at least whoever innocently found these keys, if that's the case wasn't worried about someone other than the owner finding them or was in too much of a hurry to do anything more?

I thought perhaps a carjacker picked a specific location for someone else to pick the car up, but that's probably not likely, right? If so, they probably would have had the keys inside and just instructed that it wasunlocked and the keys were in it?

The keys are throwing me for a loop.

Would it depend on what she purchased at Whole Foods? If she were running away, she might need supplies. If she were planning suicide, she also might need something to enable that.

 

[holtzmann]

Police found her 'truck'? Probably just an innocent reporting error, but even so, at no point have I seen a truck mentioned in connection to her car.

 

[tokyorose]

I agree. She seems focused and being a professional ballerina can be very stressful, but as you mentioned, why stop at Whole Foods first if it was self-harm or escaping for awhile?

The keys are perplexing. Is there an office for the Park Rangers nearby? If the keys were found by an uninvolved party, is it odd they would place the keys intentionally on/near the car so that the owner would easily spot them? I would be more likely to turn them in to the park office/employee or the police if it was after hours, but maybe others (or at least whoever innocently found these keys, if that's the case wasn't worried about someone other than the owner finding them or was in too much of a hurry to do anything more?

I thought perhaps a carjacker picked a specific location for someone else to pick the car up, but that's probably not likely, right? If so, they probably would have had the keys inside and just instructed that it wasunlocked and the keys were in it?

The keys are throwing me for a loop.

MOO but let's remember the most obvious answer is usually the correct one. As to your question about why stop at whole foods if planning self harm, because it was a long drive and she would get hungry. I have more thoughts on this but they are too morbid to express. For the record I am a ballet dancer also.