The disappearance of an ISU student has ended in tragedy as the body of Abel Bolanos was pulled from Lake LaVerne shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“Upon recovery, the body was examined and was positively identified as that of Abel Merlos Bolanos,” said ISU Police Cmdr. Gene Deisinger at a press conference at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Maintenance Shop of the Memorial Union. “[The] cause of death has not yet been determined and the case remains under investigation.”

An autopsy will be conducted Wednesday at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny.

“We are grief-stricken by the results,” said a written statement by the family, read by Deisinger.

Students bore the blustery winds and cold weather as they stood on the Memorial Union terrace looking down on the saddened scene surrounding the southeast side of Lake LaVerne where Bolanos’ body was discovered.

“It’s really tragic, I mean, it’s the loss of a human being and there is no real way to describe it,” said Dennis Martin, senior in philosophy.

Yellow caution tape surrounded the southeast side of the lake and all west entrances of the Memorial Union during the recovery.

Paramedics assisted divers in shoulder-high water as Bolanos’ body slowly emerged from the water under a blue tarp. The body was never fully exposed as it was removed from the lake, and tarps were used to block views from the Memorial Union and Lincoln Way.

Some students watched silently as paramedics loaded the body into the ambulance while others embraced each other and cried.

“I wonder how many times I have seen him on campus and just didn’t know it,” Martin said.

The search

Bolanos, sophomore in English, had been missing since early Saturday morning when he was seen leaving a party at 208 S. Hyland Ave., heading toward his home in Wallace Hall.

It is believed he headed south toward Campustown after he was unable to gain access to his dorm building around 4 a.m. Saturday.

“There are a couple of people who saw him in places which would be consistent with his walk between Hyland and Wallace,” Deisinger said.

Bolanos’ credit and debit card, which were turned in to an area bank early Monday morning, were also discovered in the Hayward Avenue area, Deisinger said.

There wasn’t any activity on his accounts, and when the cards were turned in Monday morning the bank was unaware of the seriousness of the return and didn’t ask any questions of the person who brought the cards in.

“The person who found the debit cards made contact with us earlier today,” Deisinger said Tuesday afternoon.

Search efforts from authorities were also being carried out at the beginning of the week. The search was initially limited to the areas surrounding Wallace and the route between the party and Bolanos’ dorm.

The Iowa State Patrol deployed an aircraft with heat-seeking capabilities to search adjacent farmlands near Towers on Sunday between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.

At first, only authorities were involved in the search. It wasn’t until later Monday afternoon that officials had asked for the assistance of the community in a door-to-door canvas of people’s homes and properties.

The news conference held Monday was also the first time one of Bolanos’ family members had stepped forward to encourage efforts in finding her brother.

Marivelle Bolanos, older sister of the missing student who had traveled from Illinois, urged the community to keep looking for her brother.

Marivelle described her brother as funny, likable, trustworthy and excited about school. He was eager for the year to be over and talked about his upcoming registration for fall classes, Marivelle said.

Friends’ reactions

Some of Bolanos’ managers and coworkers from Red Lobster, 1100 Buckeye Ave., remember his likable and personable demeanor.

“He was a good kid. I was his immediate supervisor back in the kitchen,” said Tanner Smart, manager at Red Lobster.

Brittney Pedersen, junior in pre-business, also worked with Bolanos at Red Lobster. Pedersen said he was shy, but liked by everyone.

“He worked in the kitchen and I worked up front so I didn’t see him a lot, [but] I don’t know one person that had a problem with him,” Pedersen said. “He was one of the nicest kids I’ve known.”

Classmates of Bolanos expressed the same feeling – commenting on his likability by everyone.

“[He was] a nice guy. Certainly a nice guy,” said Chris Duncan, sophomore in mathematics. “Nobody had anything bad to say about him.”

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday near the Campanile in remembrance of Abel Merlos Bolanos.

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