Jon Lacina’s body was positively identified by the state medical examiner Thursday.

“The body is Jon,” wrote Tom Lacina, Jon’s father, in an e-mail.

An ISU police officer found Jon in the old Dairy Pavilion south of campus around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

He was found in a mechanical room on the west side of the building.

ISU Director of Public Safety Jerry Stewart described the location as “an old boiler room area that has been abandoned for a long time,” adding that it is “very confined and under ground-level.”

A facilities planning and management engineer said the building is locked at all times. The building is occasionally used for storage but originally hosted classes for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences before it closed in 2003.

Brian Meyer, director of the communications service for the college, said the building has dirt floors and arena seating, but “nothing like a large arena, by any means.”

Stewart said ISU police is not commenting on specific details of the scene or the condition of the body. He also said the area where Jon was ultimately found was “completely obscured by snow” during initial search efforts.

The discovery, Stewart said, was “simply a continuation of searches that were being conducted every shift by Ames Police and ISU Police.”

Members of the Facebook group “Help find Jon Lacina!” have left notes of support for Lacina’s friends and family.

“It’s terrible to hear, for sure,” said Brad Humphrey, junior in logistics and supply chain management and Jon’s high school classmate. “I mean, he was a great kid, from what I knew. If anything, it at least brings some sort of closure to his family. I mean, there’s not much to say about it; it’s just too bad. He had a lot of life left to live. Hopefully, they can figure out some of the causes behind it.”

Stewart said it could be days or weeks before examination and investigation results are analyzed, “not because of any particular complication, but simply as a result of the state medical examiner’s office and other involved agencies being very thorough and methodical.”

The continuing investigation is “multi-jurisdictional,” Stewart said, adding that investigators will rely heavily on results from the state medical examiner’s office.

“The possibility of foul play cannot yet be excluded, but we just think it’s always prudent to utilize basic safety precautions,” Stewart said.

Stewart encouraged students to exercise “basic safety precautions,” including communicating plans with others and carrying a cell phone. Also, using techniques such as walking in pairs and groups in well-lit areas and using the university’s safety escort and motorist assist services.

Friends and family have made plans to plant a tree near the College of Design in honor of Jon next week.

Parker Peterson, junior in graphic design and Jon’s close friend and classmate, shared memories of Jon.

He described Jon as artistically talented, intelligent and optimistic.  Although the last three months have been painful, Peterson said Jon will continue to be an inspiration to everyone. 

“He definitely had a big impact on all of our lives and will always be in our hearts and our minds,” Peterson said.

Statement from the Lacina Family

To the good people of Grinnell, Iowa State University, Ames and the rest of Iowa,

The many weeks of hunting for our son, Jon Lacina, have been filled with a churning pain for our family, and now we grieve over the final known loss. Jon, our son, is gone. During all this, however, we have been touched and held up by the immense support we’ve received from our friends and community in Grinnell, from ISU through its administration and students, and from people in Ames and across Iowa, many not personally known to us but nonetheless connected by their concern for Jon. The kindnesses have included many letters, emails, phone calls, hugs and meals. The efforts to find Jon and to remember him have included creation of Facebook pages, money for a reward fund, media coverage, vigilant eyes around the ISU campus and city of Ames, “Find Jon” bracelets, vigils, a showing of Jon’s art work and a tree to be planted as a memorial to Jon by the College of Design this coming Thursday at noon. And of course, law enforcement officers have spent week after week looking for Jon until they finally found him. Many of them, we know, took finding Jon to heart, and it impacted their lives. 

All we as Jon’s family can do in return for all this is to express our gratitude, but please know it is heartfelt. We believe the care shown and the effort to bring closure for us is the touch of God through all of you to provide comfort in the face of the chaos of life. At a deep level, we all experience each other’s anguish and are compelled to sooth it. We know this without being told. Jon also knew this and showed it in his sensitivity as a person and artist. Jon would admonish us to be comforted and to continue to live life fully.

Thank you so much for helping us through this ordeal. 

Sincerely,

Tom, Alesia and Joe Lacina, parents and brother of Jon Lacina

Statement from ISU President Gregory Geoffroy

“We are greatly saddened to learn that the body discovered in the former dairy facility south of the campus is Jonathan Lacina, and our deepest sympathies go out to his parents, Tom and Alesia; his brother, Joe, and their extended family for their loss. We all held out hope that Jonathan would be found alive and well, but while that hope no longer exists, Jonathan’s family and friends can now begin to bring closure to this terrible ordeal.

“I want to thank everyone — from Jonathan’s family, friends and fellow students, to the law enforcement officials and many other faculty and staff — who remained so steadfast and who worked so diligently and tirelessly to find Jonathan and bring this tragic situation to a close.”