Missing Angler’s Wife In Financial Limbo

By Brandy Brubaker, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

May 27--Roberta McCauley has a lot on her mind these days.

Her husband, Fred, has been missing for three months. Authorities believe he drowned in the Monongahela River while fishing Feb. 28, but his body hasn't been found.

Fred, 62, retired from coal mining in January. During his working years, his wife of 44 years had kept busy as a homemaker and stay-at-home mother. They were looking forward to spending their golden years together.

Instead, Roberta is mourning his likely death while struggling to get her finances in order.

"It's more than I can take," she said.

McCauley said she was told she's not entitled to her husband's Social Security benefits until his body is found or seven years have passed. She hasn't been able to claim his life insurance policy, either, although it's only a small amount of money.

Terri Lewis, regional communications director with the Social Security Administration, said, without a death certificate, a claimant cannot get survivor benefits until seven years have passed since the loved one went missing. When a death certificate is obtained, eligible survivors can receive benefits.

She said a representative of her office would contact McCauley on Tuesday.

According to state code, a person who has been missing for seven years shall be presumed dead unless proof to the contrary is provided. Presumption of death can be declared earlier if sufficient evidence can be provided.

A representative of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said she couldn't speak about any similar situations they've dealt with in the past, but encouraged McCauley to contact their case workers. McCauley did that and said she was told someone would look into a few things, although the person wasn't sure they could help.

The press offices of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. David McKinley, RW.Va., did not respond in time for this report.

Star City Police Chief Vic Propst said he's been trying to figure out how McCauley can get a death certificate without having to wait seven years.

So far, he's had no luck.

"We'd like to bring some closure to this family," Propst said.

Propst said proof that Fred McCauley almost certainly drowned was found on a nearby surveillance camera.

He can be seen on the footage pulling into the parking lot at Edith B. Barill Riverfront Park in Star City the afternoon of Feb. 28, Propst said. He got out of his van and walked out onto the pier on the Monongahela River.

The video shows him at the end of the pier for 10 to 15 minutes before he disappears from the shot. There was no place else to go but into the river, Propst said.

His family suspects a medical problem might be to blame. He'd had seven stents put in his heart, suffered from diabetes, got dialysis three times a week and took medication that made him sleepy, Roberta McCauley said. He also couldn't swim.

The day after he disappeared, there was a severe storm in the area, which resulted in widespread flooding.

"It was just the perfect storm when he went missing," Propst said. "The water came up 10 feet the next day. All the locks and dams were opened."

Mark Williams, of the National Underwater Rescue-Recovery Institute, said there are a variety of factors that go into how long it takes a submerged body to surface.

Everything from the person's size to the depth and temperature of the water to the person's last meal can play a role.

The flooding the area experienced right after the search began is crucial. Because the locks were open, Williams said he wouldn't be surprised at all if the body is found in the Ohio River in Ohio.

"The chances of finding him anywhere close are probably slim," Williams said.

The Monongahela River flows north from Star City and meets the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, where it forms the Ohio River.

The Ohio River travels east through Pennsylvania and into Ohio, where it dips south along the Ohio/West Virginia border.

The 981-mile river empties into the Mississipi River in Illinois. The Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Williams estimated that a body in the river since late February would likely be found in the next couple of weeks, possibly as early as this weekend.

Williams said people who drown in rivers almost always surface at some point. Those who drown in lakes sometimes don't surface.

McCauley said she hopes someone finds her husband's remains soon.

"It's been so long, we'd like to know what happened to him," she said. " ... We were always together. We were never apart."

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(c)2012 The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.)

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Source:	McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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