CHRISTOPHER MARKS - 12 yo - Eureka (St. Louis) MO

Christopher Marks subject of search near Eureka

8:03 AM, Aug 6, 2012
Written by dave keiser

Eureka, MO (KSDK) - The St. Louis County Police Department has an active search underway for a missing boy who was last seen around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Pacific Palisades Conservation Area.

Police say the K-9 units are assisting in the search, and the dogs keep leading to the river. Divers have been calling in to search the water.


Christopher Marks

Investigators say 12-year-old Christopher Marks is a white male, five feet three to four inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue or black shorts, with no shirt and no shoes. Family members say Chris has a twin sister.

Police say Marks was last seen at the Palisades where he was at a BBQ with about 8 people. He said he was going to a rope swing on the river.

Family members searched for him for a couple of hours before contacting police.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an endangered person advisory and searched overnight into the morning.

Anyone with any information about this endangered child is asked to call St. Louis County Police at 1-314-615-5360 or your nearest police agency.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/331505/3/Missing-boy-in-Eureka-sparks-police-search

"He's really, really funny," was the immediate description of Christopher Marks' mother, Elizabeth Combs, about the missing 12-year-old from Affton. Marks has been missing since Sunday evening from the Meramec River in Pacific Palisades Conservation Area near the Eureka-Pacific borderline.

Search crews worked through the night, but were unable to locate Marks or any clues to his whereabouts.

Combs said Marks was a Boy Scout, and that his troop members eagerly are waiting for St. Louis County search teams to allow volunteers to assist. "Even his school nurse has called," she said.

She said he recently got a buzz cut, so may look differently than the photos available; he also likely would be walking around barefoot and shirtless. She said he nearly always wore athletic shorts, and had either blue or black shorts on yesterday before he went missing.

Marks will turn 13 years old on Sept. 21. He will be a seventh grader at Rogers Middle School in Affton. He has a twin sister, Anna-Marie, who is "attempting to initiate twin telepathy" to help locate him.

Combs was not present when the incident occurred, but her husband, Marks' stepfather, was with the group who had been picnicing and enjoying Sunday evening near the river. She said the abundant foliage of the tree-laden area challenged the ifrared technology of the search helicopters last night, so family members hoped the search crews would have better luck in today's bright light ambiance."

http://affton.patch.com/articles/christopher-marks-mother-reacts-to-sons-disappearance#video-10920298

SEARCH SUSPENDED
08/06/2012
Eureka, MO (KSDK) - Police have suspended the search for a missing 12-year-old boy.

St. Louis County police were called to the Pacific Palisades
Conservation Area Sunday evening to search for a boy who was last seen
around 7:30 p.m.

K-9 units assisted in the search, and the dogs kept leading to the
river. Divers were called in to search the water, but they found
nothing.

Investigators say 12-year-old Christopher Marks is a white male, five
feet three to four inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. He was
last seen wearing blue or black shorts, with no shirt and no shoes. He
is a seventh grader at Rogers Middle School. Family members say Chris
has a twin sister.

Marks' mother, Elizabeth Combs, says her son was at the Palisades
with her husband, three boys, and three girls. The boys and girls were
around the ages of 15 and 16, and he was the youngest of the group.

They were there Saturday and Sunday to go swimming and barbeque. The
group says Marks left around 7:30 p.m. to go rope swing on the river and
no one has seen or heard from him since.

Combs says her son is a joker but "this isn't funny anymore."

Family members searched for him for a couple of hours after he disappeared before contacting police.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an endangered person advisory and searched overnight into the morning.

The search was suspended Monday night, but Lt. James Mundel says the search will resume Tuesday morning at 8 a.m.

Mundel says this is still a search and not a recovery effort, and they are hopeful he will be found.

He says searchers will backtrack and sidetrack where they searched Monday.

Every possibility is being investigated, but at this time police do not believe there was foul play.

Anyone with any information about this endangered child is asked to
call St. Louis County Police at 1-314-615-5360 or your nearest police
agency.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/331505/3/Christopher-Marks-search-suspended

Christopher Marks found dead in Meramec River near Eureka

7:52 PM, Aug 7, 2012
Written by Brandie Piper

Eureka, MO (KSDK) - The body of 12-year-old boy who went missing Sunday has been found in the Meramec River.

Christopher Marks went missing Sunday evening from the Pacific Palisades Conservation Area after telling his parents he was going to go rope swing on the river.

Nobody had seen or heard from him since.

Marks' mother, Elizabeth Combs, said her son was at the Palisades with her husband, three boys, and three girls. The boys and girls were around the ages of 15 and 16, and Christopher Marks was the youngest of the group.

Family members searched for Christopher Marks for a couple of hours after he disappeared before contacting police.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an endangered person advisory and searched overnight into Monday morning. The search was suspended Monday evening and resumed around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Authorities said the clothing on the body found matched the clothing Christopher Marks was wearing when he went missing.

The body was found in the Allenton River Access shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=331813

Christopher Marks’ Step-Dad Has Revoked DL For Repeated DUI

Posted on: 6:18 pm, August 14, 2012
updated on: 06:27pm, August 14, 2012
by Chris Smith

AFFTON, MO (KTVI)– The drowning death earlier this month of 12-year-old Christopher marks was tragic and disturbing, but what makes it more unsettling is what investigator Chris Hayes uncovered about the child’s step-father.

Step-Dad Todd Combs was reportedly with Marks and six other children, during an outing along the Meramec river August 5th. He was reportedly drinking with the kids that weekend. His involvement with alcohol certainly did not start there.

FOX 2 found court records indicating Combs is a seven time DUI offender. Combs even served prison time for DUIs and the courts revoked his license, yet we caught him driving to get a pack of cigarettes.

One court record show that after Combs’ “4th DWI” he “denied alcohol use was problematic.” The court record documents him saying he believed DWIs were due to “bad luck.”

The State of Missouri confirms it revoked the license of Todd Combs, until the year 20-14.

Fox2 watched him drive to a gas station where he refilled his tank and bought a carton of cigarettes. Chris Hayes caught up with him and asked him…
“(Hayes) Why are you driving with your license revoked?”
Combs had no answer.
“(Hayes) How do you explain multiple DUIs and in three different states?”
No answer.
“(Hayes) How much alcohol did you give those kids the weekend of August 5th?
Combs shut his front door on reporter Hayes.

During the search for 12-year-old Marks, his sister told reporters about the drinking.

Christopher Marks grandmother says they’ve heard from kids who were with Step-Dad Combs that August 5th weekend, reporting that he bought them Bud Light, Captain Morgan rum and a malt liquor called 4 Loko.

St. Louis County police continue to investigate the circumstances leading to the 12 year old’s drowning and are awaiting toxicology results that could tell us how much alcohol Marks drank.

Fox2 also made a legal request to Saint Louis County Police asking for all calls to Step-Dad Combs’ address. A printout. lists 24 calls in 2011 and 2012 for things like “peace disturbance” and “domestic.”

http://fox2now.com/2012/08/14/christopher-marks-step-dad-has-revoked-dl-for-repeated-dui/