Latest news with #Lataille
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Tractor trailer may have been involved in fatal accident that put vehicle in Cheat Lake, sheriff's office says
Video is previous coverage of this story from Jan. 28. MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The Monongalia County Sheriff's Office is now looking into the possibility that a tractor-trailer was involved in the vehicle recovered from Cheat Lake last month going off the interstate. The body of missing man Kevin Lataille, 59 of Pennsylvania, was found in a vehicle recovered from Cheat Lake on Jan. 22. In a press release on Feb. 6, the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office said that Lataille was killed in a 'traffic accident' on Jan. 19, although details about the accident are still limited. The release said that deputies are 'determining the level of involvement that a 2025 Freightliner Tractor/Trailer may have had' in the accident that caused Lataille's vehicle to go into the lake. The sheriff's department's detectives and accident reconstruction team are conducting follow-up interviews, vehicle diagnostic downloads and further inspections, the release said. The investigation is ongoing. Troopers find fentanyl after high-speed chase in Mon County; 2 charged 'This investigation has many unique variables which are time consuming to investigate but arebeing thoroughly looked into,' the release said. This update comes the week after the sheriff's department told people on social media to be careful of 'false reports and rumors' about the investigation. 'We will not speculate,' the sheriff's office said Thursday, but it did say that more information will be released as it is confirmed. Anyone with direct knowledge of the incident can contact the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office at 304-291-7260 or email photographs/video to info@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Mon Sheriff asks community to quell rumors about bridge crash
Jan. 28—DPNews @ The rumor mill is causing problems for Monongalia County investigators. Prompted by varying accounts and claims swirling online about a wreck that resulted in the death of Kevin Lataille, of Smithfield, Pa., the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office issued a plea on its Facebook page on Tuesday. Lataille's vehicle — a bronze-colored Hyundai Tucson, Pennsylvania license plate KSD 4278 — was pulled from Cheat Lake on Sunday. "The Monongalia County Sheriff's Office is respectfully asking the public to refrain from sharing or spreading inaccurate information regarding the recent accident that occurred on Interstate 68, Cheat Lake Bridge. False reports and rumors circulating on social media and other platforms have only served to confuse and mislead the community, making it harder to establish the facts." According to the post, detectives and trained accident reconstructionists are investigating the incident and will provide information when a more accurate, up-to-date version of events is available. "The spreading of unverified details causes unnecessary efforts and takes away from investigating, " the post reads. Lataille was last heard from a week earlier, when he called his wife to say he was preparing to drive home from his shift at Eat 'n Park in Morgantown — through the worsening snowstorm. Officials ask that anyone with direct knowledge of the incident contact the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office at 304-291-7260 or email photographs /video to info @ "We understand that this incident has generated widespread concern, but it's crucial that we prioritize truth and sensitivity in our communications, " the Monongalia County Sheriff's post states. "We urge everyone to be responsible in their sharing of information and to refrain from participating in the circulation of unfounded claims. All MECCA 911 audio calls and radio communications have been listened to and at no time did the MECCA 911 Center receive a call about a car going off the bridge into Cheat Lake. Let's work together to provide support, rather than contribute to confusion or harm."
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
Missing Fayette County man's body found in submerged car; public's help wanted in investigation
Officials say a body recovered from a car found in a West Virginia lake is a missing Fayette County man. The Monongalia County Sheriff's Office confirms Kevin Lataille, of Smithfield, was the driver of the Hyundai Tucson pulled from Cheat Lake on Sunday. >>> Body, vehicle recovered from lake in West Virginia; Fayette County divers provide support Investigators previously said they thought Lataille went over the side of the Interstate 68 Bridge and into the lake. The sheriff's office is still investigating how Latielle's vehicle ended up in the water and is asking for help from the public. Anyone who may have information, photos or video of the I-68 Eastbound Cheat Lake Bridge from Sunday, Jan. 19, around noon is encouraged to call the sheriff's office detective division at 304-291-7260. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
Car and body recovered from Cheat Lake; no official report, but family confirms they belong to missing Pennsylvania man
Jan. 26—First responders recovered a car Sunday afternoon that had been submerged in frozen-over Cheat Lake — but Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes stopped short of confirming if the deceased man inside was Kevin Lataille, who had gone missing while driving home at the height of last weekend's snowstorm. "I can tell you we have a victim and a vehicle, " the sheriff said, as he stood near the water's edge with the I-68 bridge towering overhead. A family member, though, said in a Facebook post later that day that the car recovered was Lataille's and that the person inside was Kevin. Given the scope of the investigation and the sensitivity of the loss, the sheriff couldn't confirm that, he said. "It wouldn't be responsible for me to say anything right now." Other media outlets have quoted officials at the scene making the confirmation that the vehicle and the remains belong to Lataille. Using drone photography, the sheriff's department was able to determine the location of the car extracted from the ice Sunday. For the recovery effort, dive teams from Murrysville, Pa., and Morgantown Police broke through an eight-inch layer of ice to get to the car, a dark-colored SUV, which was then hoisted by crane some 80 feet up to the bridge. "It took a lot of work, " said Morgantown Police Capt. Douglas Sharpe, who oversees the city divers. Teams from both departments drilled and chipped away at the ice, which was solid enough to support their weight, with augers, power saws and handsaws. Darrick Gerano, the director of Murrysville Medical and the lone diver who went in, said the car was about 12 feet down. As many as 100 responders were all also there for the effort, including other rescue teams from Donora, Pa., West Virginia State Police and Division of Natural Resources from the Mountain State. "All these people right here, " Gerano said, gesturing around. While the work was hard, both he and Forbes said the wrenching ordeal of waiting was now over for anxious loved ones. "At least a family will be able to get closure, " Gerano said. Lataille had finished his shift last Sunday at the Patteson Drive Eat 'n Park at 12:15 p.m. and called his wife, Lisa, to let her know he was heading home. He got behind the wheel of his bronze Hyundai Tucson and set off, planning to motor 705 and Pa. 43 to get there, his wife, Lisa Ross-Lataille, told The Dominion Post previously. It was snowing heavily with iced-up roads and low visibility, so he made sure to check in, she said. He called again around 12:50 p.m., to say that while the roads were bad, he was still making progress. He had just spotted the sign for Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa, Ross-Lataille said. "I told him to be careful and to do what he needed to do, " she said. That was the last she heard of him. "It was like he disappeared, " she said. "Somebody had to have seen something."
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
Car and body recovered from Cheat Lake; Mon Sheriff would not confirm they belong to missing Pa. man
Jan. 26—First responders recovered a car Sunday afternoon that had been submerged in frozen-over Cheat Lake — but Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes stopped short of confirming if the deceased man inside was Kevin Lataille, who had gone missing while driving home at the height of last weekend's snowstorm. "I can tell you we have a victim and a vehicle, " the sheriff said, as he stood near the water's edge with the I-68 bridge towering overhead. A family member, though, said in a Facebook post later that day that the car recovered was Lataille's and that the person inside was Kevin. Given the scope of the investigation and the sensitivity of the loss, the sheriff couldn't confirm that, he said. "It wouldn't be responsible for me to say anything right now." Other media outlets have quoted officials at the scene making the confirmation that the vehicle and the remains belong to Lataille. Using drone photography, the sheriff's department was able to determine the location of the car extracted from the ice Sunday. For the recovery effort, dive teams from Murrysville, Pa., and Morgantown Police broke through an eight-inch layer of ice to get to the car, a dark-colored SUV, which was then hoisted by crane some 80 feet up to the bridge. "It took a lot of work, " said Morgantown Police Capt. Douglas Sharpe, who oversees the city divers. Teams from both departments drilled and chipped away at the ice, which was solid enough to support their weight, with augers, power saws and handsaws. Darrick Gerano, the director of Murrysville Medical and the lone diver who went in, said the car was about 12 feet down. As many as 100 responders were all also there for the effort, including other rescue teams from Donora, Pa., West Virginia State Police and Division of Natural Resources from the Mountain State. "All these people right here, " Gerano said, gesturing around. While the work was hard, both he and Forbes said the wrenching ordeal of waiting was now over for anxious loved ones. "At least a family will be able to get closure, " Gerano said. Lataille had finished his shift last Sunday at the Patteson Drive Eat 'n Park at 12:15 p.m. and called his wife, Lisa, to let her know he was heading home. He got behind the wheel of his bronze Hyundai Tucson and set off, planning to motor 705 and Pa. 43 to get there, his wife, Lisa Ross-Lataille, told The Dominion Post previously. It was snowing heavily with iced-up roads and low visibility, so he made sure to check in, she said. He called again around 12:50 p.m., to say that while the roads were bad, he was still making progress. He had just spotted the sign for Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa, Ross-Lataille said. "I told him to be careful and to do what he needed to do, " she said. That was the last she heard of him. "It was like he disappeared, " she said. "Somebody had to have seen something."
