Body Found In Indiana Lake IDed As Missing Michigan Doctor
Updated 04/09/14 - 10:16 a.m.
(CBS) -- A body found in a lake in Porter, Ind., over the weekend has been identified as a missing doctor from Kalamazoo, Mich.
A fisherman found a woman's body in Lake Charles on Sunday, not far from where Dr. Teleka Patrick's car was found abandoned along I-94 on Dec. 5. Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said his office was notified forensic examinations have confirmed the body is Patrick's.
"The cause of death appears to be consistent with that of a drowning, but an official cause will not be released until toxicology tests have been completed," he said.
Teleka was reported driving erratically before her car left the road and came to rest in a ditch along Interstate 94 on Dec. 5. Police arrived within 10 minutes, but there was no sign of Patrick.
A fisherman found Patrick's body in nearby Lake Charles on Sunday. The lake had been searched at least twice before, but had been frozen over most of the winter, until the ice thawed about a week ago.
Fuller said investigators initially believed Patrick was headed to Chicago to visit a relative.
"However, we believe her true destination was the St. Louis area, where she appeared intent on meeting an old acquaintance," he said.
Patrick was a first-year psychiatry resident whose behavior had been described as erratic before her disappearance. Messages from Patrick on Twitter and online videos suggested she was losing touch from reality.
"Detectives learned that Teleka had become troubled at previous times, and that this was not a recent behavioral issue," Fuller said. "We learned that she had exhibited this behavior before, and in those cases she would leave urgently. Whenever she had left, it would be for a day or so, and in each case it turns out that she would check into a motel or a hotel."
