Found Deceased WV - Kevin Lataille, 59, driving home to Smithfield PA in bronze Hyundai Tucson, last seen leaving work at Eat'n Park, Morgantown, 19 Jan 2025

[Unalienable Rights]

Have you seen Kevin Lataille?

Missing from Morgantown, West Virginia

missingpeopleinamerica.org

Family urging help in locating missing Fayette County man

Lataille, 59, hasn't returned home since, and his family said they were informed by Morgantown police that he is declared missing.

www.wtae.com

Kevin Lataille's family said he was last seen leaving work just after noon Sunday at the Eat'n Park on Patteson Drive in Morgantown, West Virginia.

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"It was at 12:48 Sunday afternoon; that was the last call," wife, Lisa told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 Wednesday.

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https://www.wboy.com/news/missing-persons/police-searching-for-missing-pennsylvania-man-last-seen-in-morgantown/

The Morgantown Police Department is actively investigating after a man was reported missing on Sunday.

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He is from Pennsylvania but works in the Morgantown area.

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Officers also said that the weather has hindered some of their options for the investigation.

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https://x.com/aware_the
The AWARE Foundation

@aware_the


***MISSING*** MORGANTOWN, WVThe Morgantown Police Department is searching for a missing 59-year-old man. Kevin Lataille was last seen at the Kroger Fuel Center on University Avenue in Morgantown, WV on Sunday, January 19th, 2025. He is from Pennsylvania but works in the Morgantown area and was last seen driving a bronze colored 2013 Hyundai Tuscon with Pennsylvania plates: KSD 4728. Kevin was heading home to Smithfield, PA when he went missing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Morgantown Police Department at 304-284-7522 or the PA State Police in Uniontown, PA at 724-439-7111.

His family and friends are posting on social media. They are putting up flyers and have contacted hospitals along any route he may have taken. Calls to his phone go to voicemail and he doesn't have a car that can be traced. Google his name for a few more details -- most of the information is about areas that have been checked.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Voices for the Silenced Inc.​

January 21 at 6:55 AM ·
Just last Sunday, January 19th 2025, Kevin Lataille was driving home from work in #morgantownwv to #smithfieldpa. Somewhere in the 30 minute trip, Kevin and his car went missing. Please share and help bring him home. His family is worried sick.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

The Park'n Puke that's across from Kroger, near Towers? There's so many establishments along that road that he should show up on several surveillance cameras. Did anyone get in the car with anyone?

 

[Knox]

How was the weather that day? What does the route home look like? Any areas he could have left the road?

 

[GraceG]

How was the weather that day? What does the route home look like? Any areas he could have left the road?

Looking at the NOAA weather radar (which you can set to past dates, remembering it's in Coordinated Universal Time, not local) showed that after his last call the weather in that area was really nasty with bands of rain turning to snow, the dark blue being heavy snow. If you look at the radar picture an hour later, it's all snow in that area. Radar Data

 

[OldCop]

I plotted the information on his locations that were indicated on the flyer you posted to get a visual idea of his travels.

View attachment 559771

Voices for the Silenced Inc.​

January 21 at 6:55 AM ·
Just last Sunday, January 19th 2025, Kevin Lataille was driving home from work in #morgantownwv to #smithfieldpa. Somewhere in the 30 minute trip, Kevin and his car went missing. Please share and help bring him home. His family is worried sick.

 

[OldCop]

A bit more information in this article:

Search continues for Smithfield, Pa., man missing since Sunday at the height of winter storm - Dominion Post

Kevin Lataille knew his wife was going to fret about the weather. That’s why the Smithfield, Pa., man called her, after clocking out from his shift at […]

www.dominionpost.com

“His plan was to travel W.Va. 705 and Pa. 43.
With all that weather, he called again, once he got going.
The roads were bad, he said, but he was making progress.”

He informed his wife that he just spotted the Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa sign and that he was taking it slow.
RBBM
The Lakeview Golf Resort is on Lakeview Dr shown on the map in my previous post. This area looks like the approach to the exit (10), he would probably take off 68 to get on 43.
I wonder if it was the sign at the Golf Resort itself that he could see from the road or was it a billboard advertisement on the highway several miles before the exit for the resort?
If it was several miles out, he would have to travel over the lake before exiting. (I took a Google drive on 68 over Cheat Lake and there are Jersey Barriers set along the highway there. It would be obvious if someone went off the road into the lake.)
After getting on 43 and heading towards Smithfield the area becomes very rural, but there guardrails along this highway which becomes the PA Turnpike after crossing into PA.

 

[STLBlues]

I wonder if it was the sign at the Golf Resort itself that he could see from the road or was it a billboard advertisement on the highway several miles before the exit for the resort?
If it was several miles out, he would have to travel over the lake before exiting. (I took a Google drive on 68 over Cheat Lake and there are Jersey Barriers set along the highway there. It would be obvious if someone went off the road into the lake.)
After getting on 43 and heading towards Smithfield the area becomes very rural, but there guardrails along this highway which becomes the PA Turnpike after crossing into PA.

RSBM - I took a google maps walk over the bridge. I'm wondering if this is the sign he mentioned? If so, it's not visible until he would have been at the end of the bridge (past the lake) due to two large evergreen trees obscuring the view on almost all of the bridge.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

A bit more information in this article:

Search continues for Smithfield, Pa., man missing since Sunday at the height of winter storm - Dominion Post

Kevin Lataille knew his wife was going to fret about the weather. That’s why the Smithfield, Pa., man called her, after clocking out from his shift at […]

www.dominionpost.com

“His plan was to travel W.Va. 705 and Pa. 43.
With all that weather, he called again, once he got going.
The roads were bad, he said, but he was making progress.”

He informed his wife that he just spotted the Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa sign and that he was taking it slow.
RBBM
The Lakeview Golf Resort is on Lakeview Dr shown on the map in my previous post. This area looks like the approach to the exit (10), he would probably take off 68 to get on 43.
I wonder if it was the sign at the Golf Resort itself that he could see from the road or was it a billboard advertisement on the highway several miles before the exit for the resort?
If it was several miles out, he would have to travel over the lake before exiting. (I took a Google drive on 68 over Cheat Lake and there are Jersey Barriers set along the highway there. It would be obvious if someone went off the road into the lake.)
After getting on 43 and heading towards Smithfield the area becomes very rural, but there guardrails along this highway which becomes the PA Turnpike after crossing into PA.

There's no billboard of it. Would've been the actual sign.

 

[OldCop]

RSBM - I took a google maps walk over the bridge. I'm wondering if this is the sign he mentioned? If so, it's not visible until he would have been at the end of the bridge (past the lake) due to two large evergreen trees obscuring the view on almost all of the bridge.
View attachment 560053

I agree. I think he disappeared at some point after getting on 43/PA TPK. He was only about 10 miles and less than 15 minutes from home on a good day. Even with traffic slowed to a crawl with the weather conditions, he should have been home in a half hour.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 26, 2025

UPDATE: Tractor trailer possibly involved in Cheat Lake accident that killed Kevin Lataille

Investigators are now looking into the possibility of a tractor trailer’s involvement in the accident as they continue to investigate the death of Kevin Lataille.

www.wdtv.com

The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a body has been found in the car recovered from the lake.

The Sheriff’s Office says that they do not know if the body was Kevin Lataille - the body will be examined via autopsy and the identity released at a later time.

 

[Knox]

JAN 26, 2025

UPDATE: Tractor trailer possibly involved in Cheat Lake accident that killed Kevin Lataille

Investigators are now looking into the possibility of a tractor trailer’s involvement in the accident as they continue to investigate the death of Kevin Lataille.

www.wdtv.com

The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a body has been found in the car recovered from the lake.

The Sheriff’s Office says that they do not know if the body was Kevin Lataille - the body will be examined via autopsy and the identity released at a later time.

Sad news. He went off the bridge (overcrossing) into the lake? I guess no one was in close proximity when he left the road and no one in those homes saw or hear anything either.

My thoughts are with his family. Be careful all you WS'ers who drive in these conditions. Scary stuff to me (Californian).

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Must've drove off the bridge right around the time he was on the phone.

 

[OldCop]

Must've drove off the bridge right around the time he was on the phone.

Read some of the comments on the WBOY 12News FB page.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Read some of the comments on the WBOY 12News FB page.

One of the top comments echoed my first thought... How the hell did he get the car over the concrete barrier? There would've been pieces of his car all over the place. One person speculated that they plowed snow up to it so that it was like a ramp (is there no other way to do it?). Mon County's probably gonna have a lawsuit on their hands (or would this be on the. DoT, since this is an interstate? IDK). Then again, we don't know how fast he was going, or if he was using Bluetooth on his phone, so it's too early to place 100% of the blame.

Monongalia County's notorious for their road maintenance (not saying this was definitely the cause). Which is odd, considering the wealth the University brings in. Morgantown is nicknamed "Morganhole" because the roads are a disaster after a harsh winter. It's like a hailstorm of bowling balls hit the road.

Different circumstances - he was on a flat stretch of I-79, I was going downhill on I-68, which connects with 79 near Morgantown - but it reminds me of when I was driving through maybe a dozen years ago. I don't think it was snowing at the time (maybe it had just stopped), but it was still icy. I did a complete 360° and spun-out across the left lane and came to a stop in the median. Luckily nobody else was stupid enough to be on the road at the time.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

A few photos from the Murrysville Medic One Dive Team's Facebook:

 

[OldCop]

A few photos from the Murrysville Medic One Dive Team's Facebook:

Thanks for those, @Aegon_the_Conqueror. Do you know anything about the alleged tractor trailer accident?
He told his wife how slow and carefully he was driving. Would he be going fast enough to catapult over the “snow ramp”? Or was it a result of trying to avoid a jackknifed TT? Was it a nudge from a TT going into a skid? Your photos show a good amount of front end damage. Don’t know if it was from hitting the barrier, hitting the lake, or hitting a stopped vehicle.
RIP Kevin

 

[OldCop]

One of the top comments echoed my first thought... How the hell did he get the car over the concrete barrier? There would've been pieces of his car all over the place. One person speculated that they plowed snow up to it so that it was like a ramp (is there no other way to do it?). Mon County's probably gonna have a lawsuit on their hands (or would this be on the. DoT, since this is an interstate? IDK). Then again, we don't know how fast he was going, or if he was using Bluetooth on his phone, so it's too early to place 100% of the blame.

Monongalia County's notorious for their road maintenance (not saying this was definitely the cause). Which is odd, considering the wealth the University brings in. Morgantown is nicknamed "Morganhole" because the roads are a disaster after a harsh winter. It's like a hailstorm of bowling balls hit the road.

Different circumstances - he was on a flat stretch of I-79, I was going downhill on I-68, which connects with 79 near Morgantown - but it reminds me of when I was driving through maybe a dozen years ago. I don't think it was snowing at the time (maybe it had just stopped), but it was still icy. I did a complete 360° and spun-out across the left lane and came to a stop in the median. Luckily nobody else was stupid enough to be on the road at the time.

I did almost the same thing when I was on the job. I was driving into work and didn’t realize I was on black ice until I went to brake at a traffic light. I was going slow. I skidded right through the intersection, did a 180 and ended up stopped at the red light in the correct lane in the opposite direction. I shudder to this day thinking about it.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 26, 2025

Fayette County man found dead after car discovered in Cheat Lake

A Fayette County man last seen leaving work from an Eat'n Park in Morgantown, West Virginia, was found dead Sunday after a vehicle was discovered partially submerged in Cheat Lake.

www.wtae.com

Pittsburgh's Action News 4 was on the scene, where ice rescue teams and dive units could be seen breaking through ice on the lake to help recover the vehicle.

"Ice rescue technicians walked along the interstate bridge locating car parts," the post said. "Ice rescue personnel cut an access hole for divers which were deployed locating the vehicle in 12 feet of water under the ice. Divers were able to confirm the vehicle’s color, make and model, and also confirmed the vehicle was occupied."

Vehicle, body of missing Fayette County man recovered from West Virginia lake

Crews pulled an SUV from a lake using a tow truck and dive teams.

www.cbsnews.com

Murrysville Medic One administrative director Darrick Gerano confirmed the victim was Kevin Lataille.

Gerano said they obtained video that showed a vehicle going off the bridge.

Officials have not shared why they believe the car went off the road.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Do you know anything about the alleged tractor trailer accident?

Not really. Only that there was one that jackknifed on the bridge the same day. People are speculating that maybe it pushed his car into the lake, or that there was so much commotion caused by the tractor-trailer wreck that nobody (either on the bridge or around the lake) noticed his car going over the barrier. I'm gonna have to go with no on both of those. If the tractor trailer hit him, the driver would've noticed. Too much commotion would actually more likely that he would've been seen... Emergency services would've been there within minutes, and traffic would've started backing up. (Which would also mean that he would've been going too slow to go over the barrier.)

It should be noted that the barrier isn't very high... Maybe waist high, if that, and about 3 feet thick. But high enough that it should've contained a Tucson... Theoretically.