JACK CULOLIAS (deceased) - 19 yo - Tempe AZ

Family wants answers in search for missing ASU student

by Natalie Brand, azfamily.com
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:03 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:27 PM



TEMPE, Ariz. -- As fraternity brothers, friends and family of Jack Culolias band together, a long list of questions remain in the search for the missing ASU freshman.

“I want the true story,” his stepmother Renae Culolias told 3TV.

His family pleaded with Tempe police Wednesday afternoon to bring in additional resources.

“We want the FBI involved and we want some answers,” said Renae Culolias. “If it was your son or daughter, you’d feel the same way; there’s something wrong."

Culolias, 19, was last seen at a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity event at Cadillac Ranch at Tempe Marketplace Friday night. Police believe he was escorted out, but where he went next is still unknown, according to detectives.

“There are so many different stories, we don’t know which way to go,” said Grace Culolias, Jack’s mother.

An exhaustive search of the area around Salt River where a shoe believed to be Jack's was found by his mother on Tuesday, turned up no new information Wednesday. Police say DNA testing is being conducted on the shoe. Investigators called it their best lead so far.

However, dive teams and special equipment including a robot with sonar and underwater cameras failed to produce any new signs of Jack.

“As of now, nothing has been located that says Jack is down in that area of the lake,” said Sgt. Mike Pooley with Tempe police.

Police also say surveillance video from Cadillac Ranch has not been helpful due to the number of people at the restaurant that night. A spokeswoman with Cadillac Ranch says the business is fully complying with the investigation, but she won’t go into details about the circumstances under which Jack left. Frat brothers insist he was alone, as he was brought out by a bouncer.

“We are hoping somebody will come forward,” said Sgt. Mike Pooley. “As of now there are other things that are happening right now as part of the investigation that I cannot go into detail on..that are being worked as I speak.”

ASU police are assisting Tempe police with the investigation. A University spokeswoman says finding the missing student is their first priority, but added any allegations of misconduct by the fraternity will be investigated.

The national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization issued a statement Wednesday offering their prayers and support to the Culolias family.

“We launch our own investigation anytime an incident with one of our chapters or members is brought to our attention,” said Brandon Weghorst, a spokesman for the national organization of SAE.

Weghorst said his organization is still trying to gather details from police and ASU officials. He said SAE has a zero tolerance policy for hazing and underage drinking at fraternity functions.

“It is the third party vendor’s responsibility to make sure laws and regulations are being complies with,” said Weghorst.

Owners and managers at Cadillac Ranch declined an interview.

Police and family of Jack Culolias are urging anyone with information to come forward.

“Some body knows something,” said Renae Culolias.

“We just need to know,” said Grace Culolias.

Anyone with information call Tempe Police Department at (480) 350-8311

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Family-wants-answers-in-search-for-missing-asu-student-182304391.html

Tempe PD: DNA on shoe matches missing ASU student

by The Associated Press and Andrew Michalscheck
Posted on December 7, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Updated today at 4:46 PM

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Tempe Police announced Friday afternoon that a DNA test has confirmed that missing ASU student Jack Colulias' DNA was in the shoe that was recently found by his mother.

Police said they are continuing to search for the 19-year-old, and are investigating an area that was not covered in their original search.

Culolias had been kicked out of a Tempe bar last Friday night and was suspected of being drunk.

Campus police say Culolias' friends saw him heading to a taxi cab, but he hasn't been seen since. His mother reported him missing Sunday.

Police had been searching Tempe Town Lake near the area where Colulias' shoe was found, but on Thursday they said they would be calling off that part of the search because no evidence had been found.

On Friday, authorities said they would resume the search after a resident reported seeing something that resembled a person's silhouette in the water.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/tempe-pd-dna-on-shoe-matches-missing-ASU-student-182541071.html

Police find no sign of missing ASU student during search near Tempe Town Lake

By Chris Cole and Grant Francis The Arizona Republic-12 News Fri Dec 7, 2012 9:31 PM

Tempe police said a shoe found near the water’s edge contained traces of DNA that matched Jack Culolias, the missing Arizona State University student but no sign of him.

Police searched Friday near Tempe Town Lake because a resident spotted an object resembling a body in the water.

Police said the report came from a helicopter pilot who told them Thursday evening that he saw something resembling a person’s silhouette while flying over the river basin by the lake, northeast of the area police were searching

Department spokesman Michael Pooley said the pilot called police after hearing about the missing student on the evening news.

Tempe police flew over the area Thursday night, but were unable to spot the object as the sun had gone down, Pooley said.

ASU police and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the search.

Pooley said the search of the basin was called off late Friday afternoon, but police are still searching surrounding areas for any signs of Culolias.

“We will not be returning out to the river basin unless more information can be found,” Pooley said.

Culolias disappeared around 11 p.m. Nov. 30 after he reportedly was kicked out of Cadillac Ranch restaurant and bar at Tempe Marketplace where he was attending an event for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Culolias was reported missing Sunday night by his mother, said Jim Hardina, ASU police assistant chief.

The lake is located just north of Tempe Marketplace.

Authorities searched the area from the McClintock Drive bridge to Dobson Road since early Tuesday afternoon after family members found the shoe.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/20121207police-resume-tempe-search-missing-asu-student-abrk.html

Body in Arizona is missing Brea student

Published: Dec. 19, 2012
Updated: Dec. 20, 2012 8:28 a.m.
By SEAN EMERY / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

BREA – Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a body pulled from an Arizona drainage canal is that of a college student from Brea who went missing late last month.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that the body found floating in a lake near the Arizona State University campus is 19-year-old Jack Culolias, a Brea native who was a freshman at the university.

Prior to his death, Culolias was last seen being escorted from a restaurant on the night of Nov. 30 for being intoxicated.

A search crew spotted Culolias' body floating in a swampy drainage canal on Sunday morning. Based on his clothing and a distinctive red shoe that authorities found with the body, family members and police had suspected that it was Culolias prior to the medical examiner's confirmation.

Authorities are hoping to determine the official cause of Culolias' death by next week.

Tempe police Sgt. Mike Pooley said there are no signs of foul play.

"It just appears to be a tragic accident, something that should never have happened," Pooley said.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/culolias-381201-body-brea.html